“I come from a farming family and the land I farm on today (in Kokosa woreda, West Arsi zone of Oromia region in Ethiopia) is that of my great grandparents. My educational  background is Masters of Law & Masters of Business Adminstration. I have worked in government institutions for over 19 years, I have served as a judge. My grandparents used to farm other crops (maize, enst or koco and  wheat) and had a dairy farm. Coffee farming, in our area, was not known then. However, I observed that coffee was farmed in the neighboring area, in Sidama (a well-known coffee growing area) – and we bought our coffee from here and drank a lot. It was very tasty. So, I studied the topography and altitude of Kokosa and observed that it was very similar to Sidama’s. In 2005, I decided to introduce coffee to Kokosa Ararso kebele and brought coffee seedlings from Sidama and started my own coffee farm in my backyard. People came over and started to learn about coffee farming and took on the practice. Now I farm on 11 hectares of land and have become a full fledge coffee farmer.”

“Finding a profitable market for the coffee we produce has been our challenge for so long. Coffee farmers have been unable to earn meaningful profit which has discouraged some to the extent that they shifted their farm to growing other more profitable cash crops to help them support their families.  However, since 2018 the coffee industry started to show positive changes and with the introduction of the Cup of Excellence (COE) the industry was further stimulated – both the farmer and the nation were fully motivated to come out on the international coffee market.”

“As the coffee industry improved, a new problem however, arose – monopoly of the market by one company – Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), a government trading company. All coffee farmers had to sell their coffee though this company, which was the only licensed body to export and trade coffee and it is this company which determines market price. Thus, the farmer had no linkage to the final buyer of his/her coffee. However, through several dialogue between coffee associations within the country and the Ethiopian government (Coffee and Tea Authority), a change in policy took place. Since 2018 coffee farmers were granted the option of seeking their own market within the country and abroad and selling where ever they felt they could profit. Farmers who opted to sell to ECX continued to work with the company.”

“In 2020 when the COE came to Ethiopia, I decided to join the competition because I earnestly believed that the high quality coffee I produced would win. The suitable topography of Kokosa woreda, allowed me to grow superior quality coffee. My coffee fetched the best price on the local market. Unfortunately, at the time, no one gave Kokosa woreda sufficient consideration. The number of coffee farmers in this area was also very small and our produce was not known. So, when I heard of the competition, I decided this was the best opportunity to introduce our coffee and find a suitable market. I participated in both the 2020 and 2021 competitions. My coffee scored 89.86 at the 2020 competition and won fourth place and at the 2021 competition I won 21st place with a score of 87.85.”

“With the improved situation in the coffee industry, followed by opportunities opened as a result of COE’s competition, my coffee which used to go to ECX only, is now exported all the way to United States of America and Asia. With new and better markets, my earnings improved and I invested all of it and more, back into my coffee business. In addition to the one coffee station I had, I recently bought two other coffee processing stations in neighboring Sidama and Nansabo woreda expanded my coffee farm.”

“In 2020 when the COVID 19 pandemic hit the country, interestingly, our coffee business/farming and processing activities was not affected in any significant way. The slight difficulty we experienced was logistics, exporting our coffee; but once we overcame that, we enjoyed good market and higher earnings as compared to other times, because there was high demand for coffee.”

“Long before I learnt about the COE, I’ve always made extra effort in producing quality coffee. I’ve visited various coffee farmers in Sidama and discussed with them and learnt from their experiences. I’ve asked for advice from Sidama agricultural experts working in the government agricultural bureaus and they advised me to grow the 74158 coffee variety, because it has the best taste and is in demand on the market. Today, in addition to that variety, I grow the 74110 . Furthermore, I have moved away from traditional ways of picking coffee berries and processing, to more modern ways. I’ve always practiced processing coffee in small quantities to maintain the highest quality and to this day I believe in quality rather than quantity. My coffee fetches as much as, or maybe even more, than those farmers who produce coffee in large quantities.”

On a personal note:

Everyday Berhanu starts his day with a very early morning prayer which he does at 3:30 a.m. He goes back to bed an hour later, and wakes up again at 7:00 a.m. to start his work. He says he may try to do a few minutes exercise, in his home gym, if it is not occupied by his children or wife.

Berhanu’s favorite coffee is the one he grows on his farm, “None other is better than the 74158 variety”, he says. He usually has his coffee with Kolo which is a traditional Ethiopian snack (a combination of roasted barley, chickpea, and sunflower seed). He says that his favorite food is Genfo (a traditional Ethiopian porridge prepared from barley). “I especially love the Genfo of my area, Arsi which is prepared with a very generous amount of traditional butter”.

Berhanu says, whenever he can, he spends as much time on his coffee farm. “There I observe the number of berries the trees give each time. It fascinates me to see how each tree responds to the amount of effort and love we put into it. As a religious man, the work of the Creator never ceases to amaze me. I find so much inspiration roaming my farm and getting a sense of how much I am contributing to my community and country. I aspire to bring the best coffee to the world and I appreciate friends and colleagues who encourage me along this line. For me the best piece of advice given to me by those very few people was, “Keep going – you’ve got this”! He says this has pushed him forward and upwards and helped him travel this far. Looking back at his life, he believes that had he not become a coffee farmer he would have remained a judge serving his community.

Berhanu says, that there is one particular person in the coffee world to whom he gives appreciation and would love to have dinner with, “Faysel Abdosh, owner of Testi Trading PLC [a coffee exporting company]. Because he know so much about speciality coffee. He’s actually among the winners of the 2020 and 2021 COE”.

Berhanu says that as the coffee industry grows and better opportunities open up on the international market, he dreams of travelling to Tokyo, Japan, “They are my recent coffee buyers” he says, It would be interesting to meet them in person”.