Competition over land squeezes Ethiopia’s coffee farmersCHIRA, Ethiopia: Every month Ethiopian coffee farmer Zelalem Tadesse makes the long and arduous journey to court to fight for the return of the land he inherited from his father. For years the 46-year-old father of three has cultivated the small patch of land deep in Ethiopia´s southwestern forests that he says a nearby commercial coffee farm took from him. "Forest land is more vulnerable than farmland, at least in this landscape," said Tola." "Earlier this year protests broke out in Chira and other towns in the region, where angry locals targeted commercial coffee farms. "My family lost one hectare of land when the investor demarcated its boundaries without asking the local farmers.

Source: Ethiopian News September 07, 2018 00:11 UTC