Abstract:
Coffee, as a globally traded commodity, has the potential to contribute significantly to achieving
the sustainable development goals in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to evaluate
the effect of coffee production and trading on gender equalities in income distribution and
livelihood improvement in Bench-Sheko, and Sheka zone by using decomposition of Gini
coefficient, Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, and descriptive statistics for livelihood condition of
the 392 households. The study illustrations moderate income inequality in the area, with coffee
income being the most correlated with total household income. Additionally the study reveals
that income inequality in male-headed households is greater than in women-headed households.
The Gini coefficient is slightly higher for male-headed households, suggesting a more unequal
distribution. Furthermore the results show those male farmers make 27% more money than
female farmers, mostly because of market accessibility, land size, non-farm income, and coffee
farming experience. Moreover the study found that male and female householders have better
physical capital, but face challenges in accessing public services and financial resources. The
result indicates that government of Ethiopia should emphasizes the need of addressing income
inequality by improving market accessibility, increasing the size of land plots, and encouraging
non-farm earning alternatives, particularly for female farmers. Furthermore result indicates the
government should improving access to public services like, electricity, network, training
centers, roads, markets, and loan provider institution that help to enhance the quality of rural
livelihoods for coffee farmers in the study area.
