The problem is not the coffee industry. The problem is Marxism.
The problem isn't the coffee industry.
The problem is that Ethiopia outlaws private ownership of land. Farmers can't earn a living wage if they aren't allowed to own land.
No, the problem is the unequal exchange created by the current international trade system. The Export cheap, import expensive system. How do you expect them to earn a profit even with private ownership of land?
But lets say for the sake of argument, you do go ahead and privatize the land...do you realize who is going to come in and buy it? Its going to be Westerners, or the select few elite of Ethiopia who can afford to buy it. The farmers are still where they started off, if not worse. Don't hold such a utopian point of view of this world and neo-liberalism and neo-imperialism. It is the excessive greed by MNCs and corporate vultures who have made this situation what it is. One of the main reasons industries in the global south are nationalized and not privatized is because it will make things worse, for example, when Bolivia privatized its water, a texas billionaire businessman came in and bought them...he had his interests to serve first, not those of Bolivia, this ended up screwing the Bolivians in the rear...You do the same in Ethiopia and the result is similar. Its not these governments choice to keep land nationalized...its the ONLY choice if they dont want to be further exploited.
Land ownership has very little to do with the control of international commodity prices.
If you are saying that companies would be nicer to private land owners and give better prices you are very much mistaken.