Melkam Ayalew  Photo by Jenny Matthews, Ethiopia

A coffee farmer at the sharp end Actionaid 28may01

Melkam Ayalew is 20 years old. She struggles to support a family of five on less than two acres in Zege, Ethiopia. Even in a good year, she will only earn about £23 from her whole coffee crop.

Therefore she also grows fruit for sale and works as a seamstress to make ends meet. Melkam's family are already cutting back to survive. She says, 'It depends on our coffee production. If the price falls, all the family misses breakfast.'

Melkam's already fragile existence will be under threat if GM coffee is developed. She won't be able to afford the ethylene or the new seedlings. But the bigger plantations, who can, will increase the amount of coffee on the market, thus driving market prices lower. Asked if her family could survive if the new coffee meant world prices were permanently lowered, Melkam replied, "We can't."

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source: http://www.actionaid.org/campaigns/coffee2.html