Forest Spice Development: the Use of Value Chain Analysis to Identify Opportunities for the Sustainable Development of Ethiopian Cardamom (Korerima)

The spice subsector has been identified as one part of the Ethiopian Growth and Transformation Plan. This paper explores the value chain for korerima, Ethiopian cardamom, one of a number of non-timber forest products which a project is helping to develop in order to maintain the forest landscape in southwest Ethiopia. This analysis identifies pressure points and potential interventions to improve the livelihoods of forest communities from greater commercialisation of the spice. The paper focuses on the way interventions could contribute towards contractualisation and vertical integration, while ways to assess social and environmental, as well as economic implications of the interventions are explored.