Restoring degraded coffee landscapes in Ethiopia

In the UNESCO biosphere reserve "Yayu Coffee Forest", the majority of the population depends on coffee as a source of income. Coffee grows naturally in the forests of Ethiopia, in partially forested systems or close to homes in "Garden Coffee" cultivation. Due to low crop yields, smallholder farmers are expanding cultivation into the protected area. Consequences are forest degradation and soil degradation. The project introduced a low-emission and climate-resilient coffee farming system. Implementation on coffee farms conserved biodiversity and reduced pressure on the forest. About 2,000 families were trained in sustainable coffee growing and processing methods. Eight farmer cooperatives and the regional coffee cooperative were supported with capacity-building activities. With the aim of scaling up, an investment-ready coffee business model and monitoring system for zero-deforestation coffee was developed with various public and private sector stakeholders.

Project data

Countries: Ethiopia
IKI funding: 1,473,153.40 €
Duration: 09/2018 till 06/2025
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung
Political Partner: Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) - Ethiopia

Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA)

Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD) - Ethiopia
Implementing Partner: Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung Ethiopia - Äthiopien

Unique land use GmbH

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State of implementation/results

Project completed.
Coffee planting and rejuvenation:
- There is continued implementation of good agricultural practices for pre- and post-harvest management of coffee. As a result, 11,905 coffee seedlings were planted between 10/2024 and 02/2025, which increased the total number of planted coffee seedlings to 146,485 (80% of total seedlings produced). The seedlings were planted on 60.4 hectares of farmer owned land by 76 households.
- 100 kg coffee seeds were purchased from Jimma Agricultural Research Centre and sown by 7 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and 6 youth groups for the 2025 season with 71,000 seedlings under management.
- 1.43 hectares (3,815 old coffee trees) were rejuvenated. With this the total area of rejuvenated coffee amounts to 5.63 hectares (15,618 coffee trees) by 586 farmers at demo plots.
Capacity Building:
- There is continued support of 80 FFS groups with teaching equipment to facilitate their regular sessions. 79 FFS facilitators received refresher trainings on key topics of the project. Additionally, 11 model farmers were trained on coffee seed production and preparation techniques aiming to ensure coffee seed suitability. The practical training was provided by Metu Agricultural Research experts.
- Site level training was provided for another 359 (87% male, 13% female) cooperative members. Coffee quality management, marketing, capital formation and cooperative principles were major topics covered. The cooperatives collected 22,000 kg red and 15,300 kg dry coffee cherries in the reporting period between 10/2024 and 02/2025.
- The Gender Household Approach has been further promoted by conducting 194 seminar sessions and training 140 change agents. Topics covered include gender mainstreaming, food and nutrition security, joint household planning, principles of saving and credit, gender and climate change. Out of the total 443 trained change agents, 197 couples opened joint bank accounts.
- 103 Village Savings and Loan Associations were established in the last six months with 17,500 ETB savings.
Events:
- HRNS co-hosted a workshop with their partner UNIQUE for the “Verification of Forest Degradation Map” with local experts and stakeholders on 16th of December 2024 in Addis Ababa. The findings of UNIQUE showed decreasing trends of forest degradation and in turn improved biomass cover and carbon sequestration potential in the project intervention areas between 2020 and 2023. This is evidenced by no recently observed new encroachments and might be due to the project’s contribution to community awareness and agroforestry initiatives including land restoration and good agricultural practices.
- Three project staff members have participated in the 21st African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA) conference and exhibition held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 26th to 28th of February 2025.

Latest Update:
12/2025