Academe Research Journals

Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development

Full Length Research Paper

Market orientation and institutional arrangements in smallholder context: The case of cross border livestock market chain in North West Ethiopia

Habtamu Yesigat Ayenew¹* and Akalu Teshome Firew²

¹Gondar Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia.

²Adet Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: teselonque@gmail.com.

Accepted 30 June, 2014

Abstract

A weak functional linkage of smallholder farmers to the markets is the crucial challenge in the transformation of subsistence farming system to market oriented farming in Ethiopia. Transforming the livestock production system to enhance the livelihood of farmers requires a shift from “selling what they produced” concept to “producing what the market needs”. The essence of this transformation process requires the incorporation of market signals to the production and market decisions. Fattening is considered as one of the important sectors to realize the process of transformation in the country. It is strategically vital to analyze the fattening and marketing system in the areas. The basic objective of this study was to evaluate the market chain in fattening enterprise from the production to the export market and to identify the challenges of the live animal export market. Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) and different key informant and focus group discussions were undertaken for the analysis of the market system from the production to the output markets. Both formal and informal survey tools were used for the collection of data. Multi-stage sampling (mixed purposive and random) was employed for the collection of primary data. One hundred and twenty farmers involved in cattle fattening were included for the formal survey. Descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) were used for data analysis obtained from formal survey.

Key words: Cross-border, institutions, market orientation, policy, transformation.