Potential Impact of Climate Change on Dynamics of Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampi Ferrari) in Ethiopia

The aim of this paper is to review the potential effect of climate change on dynamics of coffee berry borer and to generate information for researches concerned on it. Coffee (Coffea arabica L.), which is originated in Ethiopia, is the backbone of the country’s economy. It accounts for 70% of the foreign exchange earning, 10% of the government revenue and employs 25% of the domestic labor force. There are four coffee production systems in Ethiopia such as modern plantation, gardens, semi-forest and forest coffee. Among the major factors limiting increased Coffee production globally are losses due to pests and estimated to be 13% worldwide. Over 47 species of insect pests are recorded on Coffee in Ethiopia. Among which Antestia bug, Antestiopsis intricate, A. facetoids and Coffee blotch miner, Leucopteracaffeinia are the major ones inflicting considerable damage as well as insect pests such as Coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, Coffee thrips, Diarthrothripscoffeae, green scale, Coccusalpinus and Coffee cushion scale, Stictococcusformicarius, are potentially important insect pests in Ethiopia. In addition to pest constraints, Africa are expected to be placed under considerable additional stress by climate change. This is of particular importance for crops such as coffee, which serves as the economic foundation for many countries in the tropics. The Greater Horn of Africa is among the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate variability and change. Smallholder coffee farmers are more vulnerable to it, because of various constraints negatively affecting their livelihoods. Climate-induced stress may render plants more vulnerable to opportunistic herbivores. Before 1984, temperatures in the Ethiopian highland’s coffee growing regions were cool enough to keep the coffee berry borer in check. However, rising temperatures have enabled several generations of beetles per coffee season. While surveys in 1967 did not show any evidence of coffee berry borers, those conducted in 2003 found that the beetle was widespread in Southwestern Ethiopia. The rise in temperatures and infestation of coffee berry borers may already be affecting Ethiopian coffee crops. From 2002 to 2009, coffee yields plunged by nearly 35 percent. Rising temperatures are threatening the nation’s coffee crops by enabling infestations of insect pests that decrease the quality and yield of coffee berries. Thus, the frequency and severity of climatic extremes are increasing and making adaptation an absolute necessity through using current information on climate variability to develop long term plans for managing coffee berry borer via reducing the vulnerability of Ethiopian coffee growers.