O 290557Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3531
INFO AMEMBASSY ASMARA 
AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
USEU BRUSSELS
USMISSION GENEVA 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY ROME 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
DIA WASHDC
CJTF HOA
NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000214 
 
 
STATE DEPARTMENT AF/E, AF/PDPA, OES, AND PRM/AFR 
USAID for AFR EGAST, CTHOMPSON 
DCHA/AA DDIJKERMAN 
DCHA/OFDA PMORRIS, KCHANNELL 
DCHA/FFP JDWORKEN, PMOHAN 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD 
USDA/FAS FOR U/S PENN, RTILSWORTH, AND LPANASUK 
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ECARO JMYER, GPLATT, RFFPO NCOX 
USMISSION UN ROME FOR RNEWBERG 
NEW YORK FOR DMERCADO 
USEU FOR PBROWN 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH, RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PHUM SENV EAGR PGOV ET
SUBJECT: IMPACT OF REDUCED COFFEE AND SWEET POTATO 
PRODUCTION ON FOOD SECURITY IN SNNP REGION 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  Late, uneven, and generally poor 2008 seasonal 
rains resulted in poor coffee production and 
expected decreases in sweet potato cultivation, 
negatively affecting food security in eastern 
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) 
Region.  Humanitarian agencies expect food 
insecurity in coffee-producing and sweet potato- 
dependent areas of SNNP Region to continue until the 
usual green maize harvest in June, negatively 
affecting more than 600,000 individuals in coffee- 
producing areas in the coming months. 
 
¶2.  In response, USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign 
Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID/Ethiopia 
continue to provide assistance through non- 
governmental organization (NGO) partners and report 
on humanitarian conditions.  In Sidama and Wolayta 
zones, the Government of the Federal Democratic 
Republic of Ethiopia multi-donor Productive Safety 
Net Program (PSNP) protects approximately 553,000 
chronically food insecure individuals' assets and 
livelihoods through predictable transfers of cash 
and/or food from January to June 2009.  USAID 
provides approximately one third of all transfers in 
the PSNP.  With USAID/OFDA funds, GOAL is also 
providing nutritional support to vulnerable 
populations in SNNP Region.  End Summary. 
 
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Coffee:  An Important Cash Crop 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  In Gedeo and Sidama zones, SNNP Region, coffee 
production and associated casual labor represent 
important sources of income generation.  According 
to the 2003/2004 household economy analysis, 60 
percent of poor coffee farmers in Gedeo Zone and 
nearly 75 percent of poor individuals in Sidama Zone 
earn a substantial proportion of income either from 
coffee sales or associated casual labor.  For many 
coffee farmers, coffee production is the only means 
of acquiring cash revenue, which farmers use to 
purchase supplementary food items and agricultural 
inputs and pay for school fees and health care. 
 
¶4.  Most coffee-producing parts of SNNP Region are 
vulnerable to food insecurity.  Even in non-coffee 
crisis years, children are often underweight for age 
and mothers are underweight for height due to low 
average crop yields and limited saved crops, 
according to UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) staff.  Therefore, the 
impact of low coffee production on nutrition is 
often immediate and widespread. 
 
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Decreased Coffee Production in 2008/2009 
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¶5.  In 2008, long dry periods and uneven rains 
caused poor coffee seed formation in SNNP Region, 
resulting in nearly 60 percent failed coffee 
production in Sidama and Gedeo zones.  According to 
preliminary findings from the 2008 meher multi- 
agency assessment team, decreased production is 
threatening food security for more than 600,000 
individuals during the next six months, as families 
have less available income to purchase supplementary 
food items.  In addition to reduced coffee 
production, decreased coffee and wage labor prices, 
reduced casual labor opportunities, and increased 
cereal prices are negatively affecting coffee 
farmers and laborers, according to the assessment 
team. 
 
¶6.  Up to 40 percent decreases in domestic coffee 
prices and more than 50 percent increases in cereal 
prices compared to 2007 have created adverse terms 
of trade between coffee and major cereal crops, 
according to OCHA staff.  Coffee farmers typically 
purchase cereal crops to meet food requirements 
until the green maize harvest in June.  The 
combination of adverse terms of trade and reduced 
coffee production have resulted in a shorter length 
of time that income from coffee sales will cover 
food needs. 
 
¶7.  Due to coffee production shortfalls and price 
reductions, coffee processing plants are not 
employing as many workers as in previous years and 
are paying workers reduced salaries.  According to 
OCHA staff observations, only 32 of 85 wet coffee 
processing plants are currently operating in Gedeo, 
employing 60 casual labors per day compared to 600 
last year.  In Sidama, 132 of 288 wet coffee 
stations had initiated operations as of mid- 
December.  In addition, the price of casual labor in 
coffee processing plants has decreased by up to 38 
percent compared to December 2007.  OCHA staff 
expressed concern that significant numbers of coffee 
workers in production, processing, marketing, and 
transportation are also unemployed or underemployed. 
 
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Sweet Potato:  An Essential Transitional Crop 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  For many farmers in Wolayta Zone, SNNP Region, 
sweet potatoes are a reliable food security crop, 
providing critical food supplies between the cereal 
harvest in December and the green maize harvest in 
June.  The sweet potato plant has the advantage of 
having a late planting season--typically from 
September to October--making the crop valuable to 
farmers when rains are delayed.  In addition, sweet 
potatoes are short-cycle crops, enabling farmers to 
harvest crops much earlier than cereals. 
 
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Sweet Potato Production Concerns 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Late and uneven 2008 rains resulted in poor 
sweet potato production, leading to an estimated 50 
percent reduction in cuttings available for planting 
in September, according to USAID-funded Famine Early 
Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).  Although sweet 
potato plants are currently forming normally, FEWS 
NET estimates a 50 percent decline in sweet potato 
production in 2009 compared to previous years due to 
the reduction in cuttings for planting. 
 
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Increased Malnutrition 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.  Local health officials and NGOs report 
increased malnutrition rates in Sidama, Gedeo, and 
Wolayta zones.  In early January, USAID/OFDA partner 
GOAL reported increased admissions to nutrition 
centers in Shebedino and Boricha woredas, Sidama 
Zone, and Damot Fulasa and Damot Gale woredas, 
Wolayta Zone, compared to early December 2008.  In 
addition, an SNNP Region Food Security, Disaster 
Prevention, and Preparedness Bureau and Emergency 
Coordination Unit assessment indicated high levels 
of severe and global acute malnutrition in Dilla 
Zuria, Wanago, and Kochere woredas, Gedeo Zone.  As 
the peak April to May hunger period approaches, 
humanitarian organizations expect child 
vulnerability to acute malnutrition, morbidity, and 
mortality to increase unless humanitarian 
organizations provide timely assistance. 
 
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Conclusion 
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¶11.  Areas striving to recover from serious food 
shortages as a result of the 2008 belg failure are 
once again facing serious humanitarian challenges. 
Decreases in coffee production, coupled with low 
coffee prices and unemployment in Sidama and Gedeo 
zones are threatening food security for an estimated 
600,000 people for the next six months.  In Wolayta 
Zone, humanitarian agencies anticipate significantly 
reduced sweet potato production in 2009, limiting 
communities' access to important transitional crops 
between December and June harvests. 
 
¶12.  Through predictable transfers of cash and/or 
food during the first six months of 2009, the PSNP 
protects the assets and livelihoods of approximately 
553,000 chronically food insecure people in Simada 
and Wolayta zones.  USAID provides approximately one 
third of all transfers in the PSNP.  In addition, 
GOAL is providing nutritional support in Sidama and 
Wolayta through the establishment of community-based 
therapeutic feeding programs with USAID/OFDA funds. 
USAID/Ethiopia and USAID/OFDA staff will continue to 
monitor the food security situation in SNNP Region 
and report on humanitarian conditions. 
 
YAMAMOTO