Abstract:
The overarching goal of this study is to investigate the course of coffee expansion in Illu
Abba Bor by studying social groups involved in coffee production and marketing. In the
study, four types of sources were employing; these were oral tradition, archival materials,
written documents and accounts by European travelers and missionaries. We have attempted
to use descriptive methods to express our ideas and substantiate our arguments. For a long
time, researchers have dealt with the different issues like history of land tenure, trade, and
social, economic and political conditions of the people of Illu Abba Bor. Yet, they could not
to investigate adequately the specific issues like history of coffee production and its trade.
Thus, this thesis has modest contribution to fill this gap. This thesis has presents four major
themes. First, the expansion of imperial rule under Menilek and the imposition of qalad
system in the 1920s, evicted the local peoples from their coffee resources. Second, the Italian
road construction plan had three impacts on coffee production and its trade. First, it lured
labor from coffee production to road construction. Second, it diverted coffee trade from
Gambella route into Jimma and Neqamte routes. Third, it had unindispensable role for coffee
trade in the post liberation period. The third theme was that the 1950s coffee boom which
helped peasants to participate directly in coffee production, fourth the inconsistent policy of
the Derg finally brought doubt to the government officials from coffee producers. The study
finds out that, peasants rarely enjoyed from a fair share of the income coffee generated
