Cash Cropping in EthiopiaA case study example of commercial

farming

Starter

What is the correct definition of cash cropping?

a) A crop which is surplus to a farmer’s needs and is sold for cash.

b) A crop which is grown commercially for profit.c) A crop which is sold for consumption rather than

animal feed.

Learning objective:• To understand what cash cropping is and what the

impacts are on LEDC’s.

Learning outcomes:• To make case study notes on cash cropping in

Ethiopia and it’s impacts, and to answer an exam question explaining how cash cropping can lead to food shortages in LEDC’s.

Today and next lesson

In LEDC’s, cash crops tend to be those which attract demand from MEDC’s and have some export value, e.g. bananas, coffee, sugar cane and cotton.

What is cash cropping?

Cash cropping is another term for commercial agriculture, where crops are solely grown for profit. In MEDC’s, almost all crops are grown for cash.

Describe the distribution of cash crops. Refer to regions and specific countries in your answer.

Activity: Distribution of cash crops

Study Figure 6.14 on page 213 in your textbook.It shows the most valuable type of agricultural

production for each country.

Distribution of cash crops

Tropical and Sub-Tropical Areas:CoffeeCocoa

Sugar CaneBananas

Cooler Areas:Corn

WheatSoybean

Black Market Cash Crops:Coca

PoppiesCannabis

Cash cropping in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.

It is grown in Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR).

Activity: Coffee cash crops in EthiopiaAnnotate your map as we look at the production of

coffee in Ethiopia.Oromia produces 65% of the country’s coffee.

Coffee farms are located in mountainous, rainforest areas at altitudes of 1,500 to 2,000 meters.

95% of Ethiopia’s coffee is produced by small holder farmers on less than two hectares of land, while the remaining 5% is

grown on modern commercial farms.Ethiopia’s coffee is almost exclusively of the ‘Arabica’ type.

15 million people directly or indirectly derive their livelihoods from coffee.

Coffee generates around 25% of Ethiopia’s total export earnings.

Activity: Advantages and disadvantages of growing coffee for cash

Study the statements on the card and, in pairs, decide if they are a positive or negative factor of coffee cash

crops.Create a table or mind map to record the factors

(advantages and disadvantages).

Learning objective:• To understand what cash cropping is and what the

impacts are on LEDC’s.

Learning outcomes:• To make case study notes on cash cropping in

Ethiopia and it’s impacts, and to answer an exam question explaining how cash cropping can lead to food shortages in LEDC’s.

This lesson…

Activity: Ethiopia’s coffee crisis

Watch the following clip ‘Coffee crisis in Ethiopia’.

What is the crisis being referred to?

What was the coffee crisis?

• Price of coffee dropped by 70% during 1980s over a four year period.

• Price set by four or five TNCs.• Farmers make such a small amount of

profit that they cannot survive.• In Ethiopia, 1.2 million families rely on

growing coffee as their only source of income.

• Farmers cannot switch to food crops as farms are too small, land is too poor, and it would take too much time and money.

The result is starving

communities and food

shortages.

People are not growing

food and cannot

afford to buy food.

Activity: News report

Read the news article on coffee production in Ethiopia and answer the questions.

Activity: Exam question

Explain why growing cash crops can result in food shortages in some LEDC’s (8 marks)

Exam technique: what is the question asking you to do? Break it down using the guide to help you.

Command Topic Focus Case study

How can cash crops lead to food shortages?

All eggs in one basket.

At mercy of global price fluctuations.

Many people stopped growing food stuffs as they could get more money from

cash crops.

When the prices of cash crops dropped, people had

no money to send their children to school.

People had to resort to begging.

..or to eat, and many starved to death.

People are now

replanting food crops.

Prep

A more positive ending…How did some farmer’s overcome the coffee crisis?

Read the linked article on geogon.net and make notes on the ways that Oxfam has helped some coffee

farmers in Ethiopia.