The majority of Sidama smallholders own between 0.5 to 2 hectares of land, with some individuals owning up to 10 hectares. For those farmers who maintain bamboo on their properties, the average area is typically between 0.15 to 0.34 hectares. Stocking density is typically approximately 712 commercial culms/ha/year which can generate approximately 10 green metric tonnes per hectare (GMT/ha/year). For a farmer with 0.34 ha of bamboo, this translates to 242 commercial culms/year, 3.4 GMT/year, and revenue of ETB 4,900/year from bamboo alone.

Under the project scenario, we anticipate that smallholders will be able to increase commercial stocking density from 712 to 2,000 culms/ha/year, and from 10 GMT/ha/year to 42 GMT/ha/year. For a farmer with 0.34 ha of bamboo, this translates to 680 commercial culms/year, 14 GMT/year, and a revenue of ETB 17,000/year from bamboo alone.

The above calculations do not take into consideration other potential earnings and benefits afforded by the project such as the generation of carbon credits, fresh produce from intercropping, and the production of bamboo leaf silage. Project facilitated financing may also support the generation of additional sources of income e.g. from poultry, and livestock.