ECTA Launches Intensive Training to Secure the Future of the Yayu Coffee Biosphere

METTU, ETHIOPIA: As Ethiopia intensifies its push for sustainable agricultural exports, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) has launched a landmark three-day intensive training program aimed at strengthening forest coffee management within the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve.

Designed to elevate the production and marketability of forest coffee in the EU-Yayu-DeSIRA Project areas, the program brought together cooperative leaders, union experts, and regional officials. The goal is to bridge traditional forest conservation with modern, market-competitive coffee production, improving quality while sustaining the environment.

Theory-to-Practice Training Model

Running from February 24–26, 2026, the training follows a “theory-to-practice” approach. Participants focus on the technical foundations of integrated landscape management and then move into hands-on field sessions at the Mettu Coffee Laboratory and demo plots in Yayu Woreda.

Collaboration with Leading Institutions

To ensure high-quality instruction, ECTA delivered the trainings in collaboration with Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC), Addis Ababa Coffee Liquor Unit (CLU), and the Ilu-Ababore Agricultural Office.

Yayu: A Global Heritage and Genetic Goldmine

In his opening speech, Mr. Awol Mohammad, Vice Head of the Illubabor Zone Agriculture Department, emphasized that the Yayu Biosphere is not only a forest, but a global heritage site and a genetic goldmine for Arabica coffee. He noted that the biosphere’s dense forest is a critical asset for Ethiopia’s environmental resilience and its economy.

He added that the project is not just about growing more coffee. It is about growing better coffee that respects the forest’s integrity. He encouraged trainees to act as catalysts by cascading best practices down to individual farmers and helping transform the six woredas into a benchmark for climate-friendly, innovative, and high-quality coffee.

He also added that the ultimate goal of the trainings is a dual-purpose victory: protecting the biosphere’s environmental resilience while significantly improving farmer livelihoods through increased productivity, higher quality, and better income generation.

Expected Outcomes

Ato Moges Ashenafi, representing ECTA as Coffee, Tea and Spices Development Lead Executive, explained that significant activities are being carried out under the project. He stated that the training is designed to help stakeholders identify market barriers, implement modern technologies, and share best practices across the project area.

Trainees are expected to exchange experiences, identify constraints, improve the capacity of cooperative and union leaders, extension workers and experts at woreda, zone, regional and federal levels, and apply the learnings to boost production, productivity, and quality, improving livelihoods through additional income.

Reported by: Tesfu Alemayehu