Rift Valley Institute

07/10/2026

EWNET Review of Books Seminar, new work on pluralism in Sudan and Kenya, research on Ethiopia’s coffee economy, RVI@25 and more from our network.

Catch up on the latest from RVI in our October newsletter:

Read: https://tinyurl.com/RVINewsletterOctober
Subscribe: tinyurl.com/RVINewsletter

07/10/2026

Smallholders grow the coffee. A small number of others decide what it's worth.

Since 2017, reforms have allowed licensed farmers and cooperatives in Oromia's Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele belt to sell directly to global buyers. Yet our new report by Girma Defere Tegegn of Jimma University finds that state institutions, licensed traders, exporters and intermediary networks largely determine access to markets, pricing and who captures the value.

Official narratives emphasise empowering smallholder producers, but the evidence suggests they do not capture a proportional share of the benefits.

Read the report: https://tinyurl.com/2a44a3pm

06/10/2026

On 6–7 October, hosts a Regional Writing Workshop & Research Seminar at Dire Dawa University.

Day 1: Writing Workshop · Invitation only · 8:30–17:00
Day 2: Public Seminar · Open to all · 8:30–12:30

Details: https://tinyurl.com/mtkju62j

01/10/2026

offee earns billions and supports more than 15 million people. Yet smallholder farmers still see little benefit.

Beyond the Beans follows the power behind that gap, from land and licences to patronage and illicit trade. Drawing on case studies from three major coffee belts, Shiferaw Muleta Eyana traces how the centre has kept control of coffee's value from Menelik II to the present.

The synthesis builds on our report on the Sidama–Gedeo–Guji belt. Case studies on the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele and Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belts are coming soon. The series on the political economy of coffee is published by RVI's Ethiopia Peace Research Facility.

Read the report: https://tinyurl.com/bdhwurzf

30/09/2026

Is 'local' always positive? Can a poem be historical evidence? What does it take for women researchers to get published?

These questions were at the heart of the EWNET Review of Books Seminar at Addis Ababa University. Authors spoke about the road from fieldwork to print: access to communities, language, cultural expectations and slow review processes.

"Courage in all aspects is essential in terms of writing, reading, reviewing and publishing to ensure a symbiotic research ecosystem." - Netsanet Gebremichael, EWNET Principal Investigator

Read the full write-up: https://tinyurl.com/3u9kkebx

28/09/2026

Shipping disrupted. Hormuz closed. Sudan's war widening. What kind of order is emerging around the Red Sea, and at whose expense?

A Region in Flux, with Arab Reform Initiative - مبادرة الإصلاح العربي and FBA(Folke Bernadotte Academy)

Thu 1 Oct, 16:00 EAT

Find out more about the event here: tinyurl.com/msp38msj

24/09/2026

How did “making local knowledge work” become RVI’s slogan?

As RVI grew, it invested in local researchers and training while working to create a more level playing field with outside researchers.

Full story: youtube.com/watch?v=OWYHzEPrPeA

Explore RVI@25: rvi25.riftvalley.net

23/09/2026

Twenty-five years after RVI was founded, the need for knowledge grounded in the experiences, perspectives and realities of people in the region remains as important as ever.

As RVI marks 25 years, we are reflecting not only on where we have come from, but on what locally grounded knowledge means in a changing region and why it matters for the future.

Read the RVI@25 narrative: https://rvi25.riftvalley.net/why-local-knowledge-matters/



16/09/2026

Why does good policy so often fail to translate into change on the ground for pastoralists?

RVI's Head of Programmes, Michael Odhiambo, explores this in a presentation for the Centre for Research and Development in Drylands, examining the gap between policy and practice.

Watch:

In this plenary discussion held at the Practitioner's summer schoo...

15/09/2026

25 years of making local knowledge work, new research on Ethiopia’s coffee economy, Somali diaspora humanitarianism, and analysis across RVI’s network.

Catch up on the latest from RVI in our September newsletter:

Read: https://tinyurl.com/RVINewsletterSeptember

Subscribe: https://tinyurl.com/RVINewsletter