Ethiopia, a big producer of coffee beans, has reduced production. What will happen in the future?

A lot of the coffee we drink now is made from Arabica coffee beans. Ethiopia is not only an important producing area of Arabica coffee beans, but also the largest producer of Arabica coffee beans in Africa. With 15 million people living on it, Ethiopia is an important pillar of the economy.

However, climate changes such as rising temperatures and reduced rainfall are affecting the coffee bean industry step by step. NPR reports that in some parts of Ethiopia, spring and summer rainfall is 15 to 20 percent less than it was in the 1970s. In Gore, in the southwest, the rainfall is 40 inches less than it was in the 1950s. The proportion of droughts is getting higher and higher, affecting the harvest of coffee beans.

Ethiopia may lose 39 to 59 per cent of its coffee harvest due to climate change, according to the journal Natural Plants. Aaron Davis, a scientist at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London, said: "Coffee farmers in Ethiopia are the first to blame for the impact of climate change. He said that many farmers had told him that the harvest had decreased.

When Davis was in Ethiopia in 2015, he saw first-hand the impact of the drought on the region. "by the time we arrived, a large area of farmland growing coffee beans was dead. "he said. Coffee production in the Haller area has been high since 1910. "now it seems to have reached a tipping point. "

Is there a solution? Some people will say that farmers can move their crops to other places. At present, most coffee trees in Ethiopia are planted at an altitude of 1200 to 2200 meters, but if there is a problem, they may be able to move to higher places. And although faced with climate problems, it is possible to expand planting if it can be relocated and matched with relevant supporting measures.

It is easier said than done.

"it's easy to talk on paper, just move the crops up. "but it takes a lot of work, a lot of resources and a lot of manpower," Davis said. "most Ethiopian farmers do not have these resources.

Wondyifraw Tefera, a local coffee expert, believes that coffee growing areas in Ethiopia will still be reduced. Although the coffee trees were pushed to higher elevations, they still could not make up for the lost planting area.

But at least Ethiopia has that choice. Peter Laderach, a scientist at Vietnam's Center for Tropical Agriculture, points out that not all coffee-producing countries have the conditions to move coffee trees to higher ground. "taking a global view, the number of areas where coffee trees will be planted will be reduced in the future. "he said. However, he also mentioned that in addition to climate, there are other factors such as pests and diseases to be taken into account.

It's one thing to have coffee, and how can local farmers survive? Davis, Tefera and Laderach all agree that farmers should switch to other crops.

As a matter of fact, some local farmers have already done so. Many people turn to the lucrative and drought-tolerant khat, a crop that originated in East Africa and whose leaves can be turned into drugs. Qiao tea is three to four times more profitable than growing coffee.

Some farmers have changed to planting corn, but because coffee trees used to grow in the shade of large trees, they have to empty the big trees, resulting in environmental problems such as deforestation and soil loss.

Perhaps consider transplanting coffee trees to areas where the current woodland has been destroyed and at higher elevations, along with the planting of larger trees, which can increase the planting of woodland and help local farmers make a living.

The problem of climate affecting crop growth is not one or two days, and coffee is not the only one that suffers from it. Although the accompanying problems seem to be in the distant future, they can only be solved by getting up and changing from now on.