Economic analysis of conserving wild coffee Genetic resource in Southwestern Ethiopia.

The study assesses the value of conserving the wild coffee genetic resource for the local coffee production farmers in terms of their eillingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in the coffee planting material and the production effects of improved coffee cultivars.Moreover, the question of how much and why the farmers are maintaining or converting the wild coffeed plots into other systems are addressed. In addition, the opportunity cost of in situ conservation of the wild coffee populations (WCP) is estimated. The study sites are the Geba-Dogi and Berhan-Kontir forest communities and the Gomma district of Jimma zone in southwest Ethiopia. The WCP are used as the major source of coffee seedlings, especially in Berhan-Kontir where they account for about 85% of the seedlings planted annually.About 15 coffee cultivars that are resistant to the coffee berry disease (CBD), with an average yield potential of 820kg/ha (national average 471kg/ha) are selected among the collections of wild coffee germplasms.These cultivars broought a yield gain whose value is higher than the consts associated with the collection of the germplasm, selection and dissemination of the cultivers over the last three decades.Additionally, estimate of the farmers' WTP for improved coffee planting material indicates that they are willing to pay for such material, especially with regard to the yield limiting factors, including CBD, coffee wilt disease (CWD), rust, and vigor nature of the coffee trees.Furthermore, thos farmers surrounding the WCP are willing to pay less than those located far from the forest coffee sites.the contriution of the WCP to the value of the improved planting material is derived from the estimates of farmers' WTP for the improved material in the different places.It is calculated by deducting the apploximate cost of breeding and dissemination of the planting material from the mean willingness to pay for the improved planting material. Information on factors associated with the change in forest land use can help to determine the priority subjects of intervention in order to shape the dynamic process.analysis of the forest land use indicates that the area of such forest land has been diminishing and mainly replaced by a forest coffee system that incorporates the introduction of certain local and improved cultivars.The cultivation area of improved coffee cultivars and cerea crops has also increased in both forest communities.Factors like larger area of maize and coffee cultivation, food security,distance from district center and distance from forest sites, and smaller area of improved coffee cultivation are positively associated with the area of wild coffee plots at the household level. Empirically, it is rational for the farmers to convert their wild coffee plots into a managed form of coffee production, or maize farms since the returns per unit area can be improved, as it is the case at 2003 prices.However, the coffee-based farming system gave higher marginal returns than the cereal-bassed farming system gave higher maginal returns than the cereal-based system at 2001 prices.A 30-year disconted value of the shadow prices of the forest land with WCP in soughwestern Ethiopia with a total area of about 44,000ha,based on commonly observed crop prices as in 2001 and 2002, is much lower than the nationally aggregated value of the wild coffee gentic resource.This can partly justify the incentive to conserve the WCP. A discriminated coffee pricing, i.e.,a higher price for coffee harvested rom wild and forest coffee system than the coffee produced con conventionally from semi-forest and improved coffee systems could inluence the farmers' decisiojn to maintain the wild or forest coffee farm types.A laump sun payment per unit area of forest coffee farm types could also motivate them to maintain the forest system by compesating them for the losses they would face if they were not allowed to establish other farming systems that would replace the forest coffee system.A price level of about birr 4.00/kg dry cherry for forest coffee could motivate the farmers to preserve the forest coffee type based on the relative crop prive levels in 2003.Based on 2003 prices, a maginal loss of about Birr 323.00 is expected to be gained due to the same unit expansion of improved coffee or cereal crops cultivation.