Socio-economic determinants of smallholder farmers’ coffee production in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia

Coffee is the foundation of Ethiopia’s economy with a quarter of the population dependent on coffee production and exports for livelihood. However, most empirical research in coffee production focuses on the productivity factors like yields rather than socio-economic factors that can significantly influence the level of coffee production. Thus, this essay explores the determinants of smallholders’ coffee production in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia by applying the ordered logistic regression model. This model estimates the coffee production status of smallholders by combining the effect of multiple productivity related biophysical and socio-economic factors. Using a multistage sample procedure, two farmers associations from each district were chosen for the research. Overall sample sizes of 250 households were interviewed door-to-door to generate quantitative data. Data was analyzed by using SPSS software and descriptive statistical techniques were applied in order to determine the coffee production status of the farm households. The results indicated that about 88.8% of the smallholder farm households fell under the yield category of ‘low producer’, which is an indicator that numerous variables provide challenges to the smallholder coffee production in the studied area. The results of the regression study showed that of the eighteen variables in the model, seven variables including irrigation access, pruning practice, household farm land size, training access, pesticide utilization, manure application, and cultivated land allocation were discovered to be the important predictors of farm families' coffee production status in the research region. It can be recommended that establishment of government sponsored irrigation systems, empowerment on utilization of appropriate coffee farm technologies and inputs for the areas, enhancing extension services to improve farmers’ skill and knowledge on coffee production system and risk alleviating mechanisms, developing soil fertility mechanisms, establishment of farmers training centers in the vicinities of producers, building capacity of institutions are vital to motivate coffee producers and increase productivity and coffee output in the research area and areas with similar situations. Key words: coffee, Ethiopia, ordered logit production, yields, smallholder farmers