SIDAMA ECONOMY
Dr. Wolassa L. Kumo The Sidama economy is based primarily on the subsistence agriculture characterized by archaic production techniques. However, a substantial area of the Sidama land produces coffee , which is the major cash crop in the region. Coffee has been the major source of income for the rural households in the coffee producing regions of the Sidama land. However,the recent plunge in international coffee price drew most of these households back into the subsistence production and absolute poverty(coffee prices fell dramatically even during the commodity price boom of 2001 to mid 2008). Sidama is one of the major coffee producing regions in Ethiopia. It supplies over 40% of washed coffee to the central market. Coffee is the single major export earner for the country.Export earnings from coffee ranges from 60-67% although the country's share in the world market is less than 3%. The Sidama people have never faced major hunger and famine until very recently. Due to