Cash Cropping in Ethiopia A case study example of commercial farming

1. Cash Cropping in Ethiopia A case study example of commercial farming

2. Starter What is the correct definition of cash cropping? A crop which is surplus to a farmer’s needs and is sold for cash. A crop which is grown commercially for profit. A crop which is sold for consumption rather than animal feed.

3. Today and next lesson • Learning objective: • To understand what cash cropping is and what the impacts are on LEDC’s. • Learning outcomes: • To make case study notes on cash cropping in Ethiopia and it’s impacts, and to answer an exam question explaining how cash cropping can lead to food shortages in LEDC’s.

4. What is cash cropping? Cash cropping is another term for commercial agriculture, where crops are solely grown for profit. In MEDC’s, almost all crops are grown for cash. In LEDC’s, cash crops tend to be those which attract demand from MEDC’s and have some export value, e.g. bananas, coffee, sugar cane and cotton.

5. Activity: Distribution of cash crops Study Figure 6.14 on page 213 in your textbook. It shows the most valuable type of agricultural production for each country. Describe the distribution of cash crops. Refer to regions and specific countries in your answer.

6. Distribution of cash crops Black Market Cash Crops: Coca Poppies Cannabis Cooler Areas: Corn Wheat Soybean Tropical and Sub-Tropical Areas: Coffee Cocoa Sugar Cane Bananas

7. Cash cropping in Ethiopia Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. It is grown in Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR).

8. Activity: Coffee cash crops in Ethiopia Annotate your map as we look at the production of coffee in Ethiopia. Oromia produces 65% of the country’s coffee. Coffee farms are located in mountainous, rainforest areas at altitudes of 1,500 to 2,000 meters. 95% of Ethiopia’s coffee is produced by small holder farmers on less than two hectares of land, while the remaining 5% is grown on modern commercial farms. Ethiopia’s coffee is almost exclusively of the ‘Arabica’ type. 15 million people directly or indirectly derive their livelihoods from coffee. Coffee generates around 25% of Ethiopia’s total export earnings.

9. Activity: Advantages and disadvantages of growing coffee for cash Study the statements on the card and, in pairs, decide if they are a positive or negative factor of coffee cash crops. Create a table or mind map to record the factors (advantages and disadvantages).

10. This lesson… • Learning objective: • To understand what cash cropping is and what the impacts are on LEDC’s. • Learning outcomes: • To make case study notes on cash cropping in Ethiopia and it’s impacts, and to answer an exam question explaining how cash cropping can lead to food shortages in LEDC’s.

11. Activity: Ethiopia’s coffee crisis Watch the following clip ‘Coffee crisis in Ethiopia’. What is the crisis being referred to?

12. What was the coffee crisis? • Price of coffee dropped by 70% during 1980s over a four year period. • Price set by four or five TNCs. • Farmers make such a small amount of profit that they cannot survive. • In Ethiopia, 1.2 million families rely on growing coffee as their only source of income. • Farmers cannot switch to food crops as farms are too small, land is too poor, and it would take too much time and money. The result is starving communities and food shortages. People are not growing food and cannot afford to buy food.

13. Activity: News report Read the news article on coffee production in Ethiopia and answer the questions.

14. Activity: Exam question Explain why growing cash crops can result in food shortages in some LEDC’s (8 marks) Exam technique: what is the question asking you to do? Break it down using the guide to help you. Command Topic Focus Case study

15. How can cash crops lead to food shortages? When the prices of cash crops dropped, people had no money to send their children to school. All eggs in one basket. At mercy of global price fluctuations. ..or to eat, and many starved to death. Many people stopped growing food stuffs as they could get more money from cash crops. People had to resort to begging. People are now replanting food crops.

16. Prep A more positive ending… How did some farmer’s overcome the coffee crisis? Read the linked article on geogon.net and make notes on the ways that Oxfam has helped some coffee farmers in Ethiopia.