Economy Briefs
The Sidama economy is largely agricultural. This sector remains the
mainstay for the majority of the people who depend on it for their
livelihood and employment. Coffee is the largest income- earning plant. It
is grown in five districts out of ten.
The Wesse plant (also called enset), is endogenous to Sidama; it is the
largest a source of staple food. Its production technique remains backward
requiring research and improvement if the situation of women is to be
improved. Several other crops and vegetables also grow in Sidama. Animal
husbandry is common along farming. Cattle are usually kept for milk and
meat or as a form of wealth accumulation.
Trade, industry and tourist as well as service activities are
restricted in the urban areas.
Agriculture
(Coffee, Wesse)
Industry
Social
Services
Investment
Coffee is the largest income earner for Sidama farmers.
Sidama produces a quality coffee for export known under Ethiopian
Standards as Sidamo1 coffee. Its major classification is under Coffee
Arabica. Major international buyers of Sidama coffee are Germany, USA,
France, and Japan. Inefficient and depressive economic policies of
successive Ethiopian governments have halted the growth in quality and the
benefits to the producers. World coffee market also exhibits deteriorating
trend.
- Woman collecting coffee berries
Coffee is collected by traditional, labor intensive
techniques. The recent drought has seriously affected coffee plants and
production is estimated to fall. Sidama has never experienced drought of
such proportions.
Enset
Could Be A Solution to Food Insecurity
'I read a 1997
publication entitled "The Tree Against Hunger," by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, in collaboration with the
Awassa Agricultural Research Center, on the Enset plant, in which the
results of research over the past seven years was discussed, as well as
food security and sustainability, the origin and history of the plant, the
ecology and environment as well as the future prospects for the plant.'
Enset- The "Tree Against Hunger"
(external link to 'Information on wesse, or enset, aka the false banana, an
important but underutilized drought-resistant food plant'. A study by
Steven A. Brandt, et al for American Association for
the Advancement of Science with Awassa Agricultural Research Center Kyoto
University Center for African Area Studies and University of Florida)
A Linear Model for Predicting Enset Plant
Investment in infrastructure is extremely underdeveloped as few towns have electricity or a clean water supply.
Deprivation in rural areas is even more extreme. Many remote parts have no
roads. There is only one highway; there are no air ports and no rail
transport despite the favorable terrain.
Sidama Music
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Sidama Times |
Sidama Coffee
