Addis ababa: Ethiopia officially launched the Steering Committee for the National Coffee Platform, bringing together a broad spectrum of stakeholders to support one of the country’s most vital economic and cultural sectors in Addis Ababa.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, Semereta Sewasew, State Minister of Finance and Chairperson of the Steering Committee, spoke at the launch, noting ongoing challenges including climate change, market vulnerability, and regulatory hurdles. She commended producers, exporters, and the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) for their role in achieving record-breaking export figures.
Adugna Debela, Director General of ECTA, and Samuel Doe, UNDP Representative in Ethiopia, addressed the gathering, highlighting the importance of unity and shared purpose in advancing Ethiopia’s coffee sector. The Steering Committee is tasked with guiding the National Coffee Platform, first introduced in November last year, toward a shared vision for the future of the sector.
The platform is
designed to foster leadership, accountability, and cooperation among farmers, cooperatives, exporters, civil society, government, and private sector actors. The coffee sector supports over 5 million smallholder farmers-many of them women-and directly or indirectly employs roughly a quarter of the population, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Coffee remains Ethiopia’s leading export, generating over 2.5 billion USD this year, marking one of the highest contributions in the country’s history.