The South Ethiopia Region is making substantial progress this year in its Green Legacy Initiative, undertaking a massive project to plant coffee seedlings across 17,000 hectares of land.
This ambitious effort aims to boost the region's coffee production, with over 6,000 hectares dedicated to new farms and another 6,000 hectares to replacing old, unproductive coffee plants, ultimately enhancing the livelihoods of local farmers.
Amanuel Biru, Director General of the region's Coffee and Spice Authority, stated that this extensive planting includes over 6,000 hectares of new coffee farms and the replacement of old, unproductive coffee plants on another 6,000 hectares.
He highlighted that various activities are underway to boost the region's coffee productivity, with expanding coffee farm coverage being a key focus. To date, over 37 million improved coffee seedlings have been prepared for planting, and 32 million of these have already been planted.
The seedling planting drive is expected to continue until the end of June. Amanuel emphasized that the effort is keenly focused on increasing farmers' benefits. Experts are closely monitoring and supporting coffee seedling preparation at various nurseries to ensure quality, and the planting process itself is being carried out as a coordinated campaign.
He further noted that a concerted and integrated effort is underway to fully utilize the region's coffee production potential. This fiscal year, activities to enhance coffee productivity have included replacing old coffee plants with new varieties and pruning coffee plants on 5,400 hectares of land.
The region also plans to expand its existing coffee cultivation area, which currently stands at over 228,000 hectares, with ongoing efforts to achieve this goal, according to FBC.