Assessment of stakeholders’ roles and linkages in quality coffee production in Yirgacheffe District, southern Ethiopia: Implications for local adaptation to climate change

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study objective is to assess stakeholders’ roles and linkages in quality coffee production and the implications for adaptation to climate change in Yirgacheffe District, southern Ethiopia. Stakeholder analysis was performed to identify and characterize stakeholders based on their power and interest criteria and to assess their linkages and roles in quality coffee production. Additionally, a household survey with coffee farmers (stratified into quality coffee farmers and conventional coffee farmers) was conducted to assess coffee farmers’ level of satisfaction of with various forms of support provided to them by the stakeholders. The stakeholders analysis revealed that stakeholders possessed different degrees of power and interest in quality coffee production. While government agencies were more powerful in decisions and actions related to quality coffee production, coffee farmers (key actors) were less powerful. The household survey revealed that quality coffee farmers tended to have stronger linkages with stakeholders than conventional coffee farmers. The authors conclude that quality coffee production was the result of efforts from multiple stakeholders, and they suggest that policy interventions to enhance collaborative quality coffee production through empowering stakeholders in decision-making processes in the coffee value chain are important to make the coffee-based livelihoods sustainable and resilient to climate change.