GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

  Pests which destroy large parts of farms leading to losses e.g. termites. Diseases which lead to poor quality output such as coffee wilt disease and coffee berry disease. Limited land for coffee plantations due to ever increasing population. Soil exhaustion due to monoculture leading to low and poor quality yields. Competition with other coffee producing countries like Brazil and Ivory Coast leading to inadequate market. Low prices and unstable coffee prices leading to price fluctuation on the world market which demoralizes the farmers. Prolonged drought and hailstorms which destroy coffee flowers leading to low output. Competition with other beverages e.g. tea, cocoa and vanilla which reduces demand. Dangerous animals e.g. snakes, wasps and bees which attack the workers hence scaring them away. Inadequate storage facilities which leads to losses due to rotting of the coffee and destruction by pests. Coffee has a long gestation period of about 3 1 / 2 years until the first ha...

  Competition with unwanted weeds for plant nutrients leading to poor quality produce. Pests e.g. aphids which destroy the crop leaves leading to losses. Diseases e.g. root fungus disease which leads to poor quality output. Inadequate capital yet expensive machinery is used in tea processing. Scarcity of labour to do the plucking during the harvesting period. Competition with other countries producing cigarettes e.g. Marlboro and Rex from USA. Limited land for tea plantations due to ever increasing population . Soil exhaustion due to monoculture leading to low and poor quality yields. Unstable prices leading to price fluctuation on the world market which demoralizes the farmers. Natural hazards e.g. hailstorms which destroy large parts of plantations leading to low output. Dangerous animals e.g. snakes, which attack the workers hence scaring them away. Inadequate storage facilities which leads to losses due to rotting and destruction by pests. Transport problems in some areas...