Coffee Crisis
Ethiopian farmers face poverty as coffee prices plummet
Coffee farmers of Ethiopia are facing destitution. The collapse in world coffee prices means that prices no longer even cover growing costs.
Farmers in Ethiopia are now lucky to make $10 a year. Prices have fallen 70% in the past four years and since the collapse of the International Coffee Organisation, farmers have been forced to accept prices set by large multinationals. "Those people make money from our sweat," complains one farmer: "All we get for our hard work is starvation, misery and death." As a result of the coffee crash, the government has seen its income plummet by 20%. Less funds are now available for health clinics and schools "The drop in prices is a big problem for us. We can no longer support our children," despairs farmer Abanega Aba Negaa. "If the coffee price remains unchanged we'll simply have no life."
Produced by ABC Australia
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