Abstract:
In time bound when nobody was sure how Coffee arabica is originally discovered,
farmers in Ethiopia have been growing quality coffee in the untamed forests of
Kaffa and Buno areas. As a result, coffee is an important source of genetic resource
for the world where Ethiopia stands as the Africa’s leading producer and domestic
consumer and the World’s fifth largest producer of coffee. Despite its earliest
establishment, a series of complaints are reported from this origin of coffee legend
which even resulted in to rejection of export consignments. Correspondingly, there
is no comprehensive study conducted to identify the contribution of smallholder
farmers’ knowledge on coffee quality. To this effect, eighteen variables were
assessed by the survey and the result signified ten variables were found significant
at (P<0.10) probability level. Form these variables, market distance, distance to
washing stations, frequency of training and actors’ efforts to improve quality were
important to influence coffee quality. Similarly of the 12 items selected items for
comparison in attitude scale, primary actors involved in quality improvement,
awareness of quality trend, skill and knowledge of farmers were important items
that affected coffee quality. The finding has also indicated farmers had virtually low
information regarding quality beans they produced and their social, institutional,
economical and psychological factors differ across the study areas and among
respondents. These necessitated strengthening linkages among institutions so as to
popularize the already available technologies
