Abstract :
This study was conducted in Alaba district of Southern Ethiopia to describe smallholder
sheep and goats marketing systems, identify marketing constraints and suggest improvement
options to enhance incomes of smallholder producers. Informal and formal study tools
of focused group discussion, key informant interview, household survey and rapid market
appraisal were employed to gather information from development partners, smallholder
farmers, traders, transporters and consumers. Smallholder farmers sale sheep and goats
to fulfill immediate household cash needs, particularly to acquire food items. Smallholder
producers, small and large traders, brokers, transporters and consumers are the major market
participant across the market channels. Mode of marketing is mainly on ‘eye-ball’ basis
with one-on-one price negotiation. Farmers market animals of different age, sex and weight
either at farm gate or local markets, while a range of traders are involved at various stages of
markets until the animals reach final consumers. Supply, demand and price of animals have
clear seasonal variations. Abuse by brokers, lack of price information, access to incentive
markets, poor market infrastructure and seasonality of markets are the major challenges
in improving benefit and livelihood of smallholder sheep and goat producers. Commercialization
of smallholder systems, standardizing marketing with marketing information and
infrastructures, integrated intervention of the market channels along the value chains and
market actors, formation of marketing groups and co-operatives could improve marketing
efficacy and profitability of smallholder sheep and goat system.
