Coffee connoisseurs prize Ethiopian beans

Cash crop not paying off for farmers
By PATRICK MAJUTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ethiopia Yergacheffe and Harar may be stars in the firmament of specialty coffees, but in the heart of Ethiopia where the plant was first discovered, farmers reap few benefits from their highly-prized crops.

"For the last three years, coffee has become undependable,' said Abba Milki, an 80-year-old farmer who owns 4,000 coffee trees. "Our livelihood is at stake if the situation doesn't change. We get nothing from the crop; it doesn't even pay for the labor.'

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