Coffee, federal government and Oromia OPDO is so bold about the Oromiyaa is birth place of Arabica coffee rhetoric. Fortunately, it is just among very few thing the diaspora Oromo help Oromia regional state win propagate this fact to the world. In the past, the issue of where the birth place of coffee has been very controversial as SNNPR claims Kaffa zone is the birth place of Coffee. I remember reading a pamphlet about it in Hawassa in 2007. If you go around and ask where the name Coffee came from, most people in Ethiopia believe it is from the name Kaffa which is wrong. The word is derived from Dutch word Koffie which in turn derived from Turkish and Arabic words. Contrary to this fact, the federal government of course has helped to stablish Coffee Museum in Bonga, the capital of Kaffa zone, on the assumption that Kaffa is the birth place of coffee. Field observation reveal there is wild coffee today in tropical forests both in Jimma and Kaffa zones. However, the first ever coffee that Kaldi tasted is found in Jimma and that would mean Oromiyaa can claim to be birth place of coffee because it is pointless if the crop remained wild. Today, about 70% of coffee production and export is from Oromia. The region has very ambition goal of putting Ethiopia number 2 next to Brazil in coffee export and earnings. On the backdrop of this, on January 4, Oromia celebrated the fifth coffee day. As you can see on the video, the event was major and all ministers from top to bottom took part. The media divide in Ethiopia is very noticeable. You might remember what happened during the death of Alamaayyoo Atomsaa, the late president of Oromia when regional media in Oromia aired cries, ETV aired dances. Coffee is on top of the development agenda of regional media in Oromia. In fact, about 75% of programming in the television station is about different set of packages how to increase production and productivity of crops and livestock. While regional media speak about how to farm coffee 24hrs, ETV has hardly said a thing. I do understand it is boring to talk about development 24hrs but only to federal media? Why is this event not an interest to the federal government and its media if it earns more than half its foreign earnings from coffee? The event that the PM spoke on could not even be a major news on their prime time! And Redwan the minister for communication and board chairman of ETV was there. This is just among many occasions that demonstrate the immense difference between federal government and Oromia. Federal government wants to keep all states checked both in their economic footprint and sociopolitical activities. Oromia is to be more powerful than the federal government itself if left unchecked, believe TPLF cadres and their ANDM close friends. In fact, some of TPLF officials are so worried about the expanding role of Oromia Coffee Cooperative union, now the largest buyer and coffee warehouse operator in Ethiopia. This union has made it very difficult for the TPLF cadres to robe coffee in Oromia. You do remember that Eritrea, with TPLFs help, now foe, had once earned more money from coffee export than Ethiopia itself. That is how vulnerable coffee trade is for rigging. Coffee is very important crop for Oromia not only economically but also as part of our identity as the saying goes Bunaafi Nagaa hin dhabinaa. Our farmers must be empowered and coffee is the way.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:29:51 +0000