The JRC can not meet the rapidly growing demand improved coffee varieties in the country as described Negusie et al., (2008). To circumvent the shortage planting materials, the informal coffee seed system is also practiced by the varied private and public coffee farms in the major coffee producing regions of the country. This includes production of uncertified coffee seeds from the released and adaptable coffee varieties by small-scale farmers, private investors and state coffee farms, who produce and use for themselves, on top of transferring to other users in their vicinities. Among others, the big coffee state farms, namely, Limmu, Teppi and Bebeka of the coffee plantation development enterprise (CPDE) had produced and supplied a total of 59,287 kg of coffee seeds to different users between 1997 and 2000. They depend on the improved CBD resistant selections initially obtained from the JRC. Likewise, the recently established modern private coffee farm of Medroc Ethiopia, the Gemadro coffee farm of Agi- ceft Ethiopia, has also played a significant role in the production and supply of coffee seeds from the selected CBD resistant varieties (Table 1). The production from these large coffee farms is also augmented by the relatively smaller quantities of CBD resistant coffee seeds (1,000 to 2,000 kg) produced and supplied by some private coffee farms of smaller scales found in the southwestern parts of Ethiopia. The whole informal coffee seed sources prepare improved coffee seeds as per the requests they receive from the users ahead of time. This could be the main reason for the variations in the amount of coffee seeds distributed over crop years.
In Ethiopia, experiences show that smallholders had served as the major source of coffee seeds and seedlings for the informal farmer to farmer seed exchanges via the respective Wereda and Zonal bureaus of agriculture. For instance, in most coffee growing areas of the Oromia and SNNP regional states, it is not uncommon to find coffee farmers who are producing large volumes of coffee seeds to supply for the agricultural offices in their vicinities. Besides, they are also playing a great role in providing coffee seeds and seedlings to their fellow farmers around their localities,
thereby generating considerable income for their livelihood. Thus, the existing farmers’ experience and knowledge of producing coffee seeds and seedling as a source of cash seems to be so cost-effective and affordable option for sustainable and efficient scaling-up of improved coffee technologies within the small-scale coffee producing communities. Hence, this practice could be strengthened and promoted to enhance the use of improved varieties within the smallholder coffee producing sector at least in the highly suitable coffee growing regions and districts of the country. However, in some cases, the variety and purity of the seeds and seedlings produced and supplied by individual coffee farmers may not be dependable as they are not so strict in providing the selected released coffee varieties. Due to the high opportunity costs, the farmers may include some coffee seeds and seedlings from disease susceptible local landraces they consider and prefer good. Hence, it is essential to establish farmers’ coffee seed/seedling producers group with pertinent technical and practical training supports. This indicates that large-scale coffee farms have more experience than the other coffee seed sources. The technical and resource capacities of the large-scale coffee seed producers (state farms and private investors), as well as those of smallholders can help to trigger rapid expansion of improved coffee technologies and contribute a lot to boost coffee production and productivity in the country. This would be successful if their activities are technically supported through all rounded regular trainings as well as field inspection and certification schemes as it is true in the case of other cereal seed systems.
Since the past few years, the Ethiopian government had given a very serious attention for the expansion of the coffee plantations, which in turn entailed large scale multiplication and distribution of improved coffee seedlings. This can be witnessed from the ever increasing plan for the total coffee area coverage every year through expansion of new coffee plantations, accompanied with allocation of adequate budget, which in turn created a significant boost in the demand for improved coffee seeds all across the country. There are also