Jimma Zone

Towns and cities in Jimma include Agaro, Limmu Inariya and Saqqa.

[citation needed] The Central Statistical Agency (CSA) reported that 26,743 tons of coffee were produced in this zone in the year ending in 2005, based on inspection records from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority.

[1] Historically, Jimma has been considered one of the food-exporting areas of Ethiopia, but beginning in 1997 poor crops harvests and the appearance of crop diseases such as Grey leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercospora zeaemaydis (not previously common in Ethiopia) led to a deterioration in conditions.

By 1999, signs of the seriousness of the situation included empty household granaries, people begging and committing crimes in the hope they will be fed in jail, sending children to live with relatives or friends, and reduced student enrollment in schools.

[2] Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this Zone has a total population of 3,486,155, an increase of 26.76% over the 1994 census, of whom 1,750,527 are men and 1,735,628 women; with an area of 15,568.58 square kilometers, Jimma has a population density of 159.69.