Characterization of village chicken and egg marketing systems of Bure district, North-West Ethiopia

摘要

AstudywasconductedtoassesstheexistingvillagechickenandeggmarketingsystemofBuredistrict,NorthWestEthiopia.Aparticipatoryruralappraisalandaformalsurveywereusedtocollectalltherelevantdata,usingamulti-stagesamplingtechnique.Sevenfarmerkebeles(2fromhighland,3frommidaltitudeand2fromlowlandagroecologies)andatotalof280villagechickenownerhouseholdswereselectedandconsideredforthestudy.Inaddition,30chickenandeggcollectors(middlemen)wereinterviewedusingastructuredquestionnaire.Alllocalandurbanmarketswerevisitedonceinamonthinallseasonsoftheyear.nbsp;Theresultofthecurrentstudyrevealedthattherewasnoanyformalchickenandeggmarketingoperationinthestudydistrict.Theresultshowedthat69.3%and99.6%ofinterviewedvillagechickenownersinvolvedinmarketingofchickenandeggs,respectively.Producer-Consumer,Producer-Middlemen,Producer-Retailer,Middlemen-Retailer,Middlemen-Consumerweretheprevailingchickenandeggmarketingchannelsofthestudydistrict.Accordingtotheresultofthestudyvillagechickenownerstraveled,onaverage,adistanceof5.5kmand15.9kmtoreachtonearbylocalmarketsandurbanmarkets,respectively.Itisidentifiedthatthemajority(59.3%)ofchickenownersusedbothhandcarrying(hangingbirdswithapieceofstick)andcarryingbirdswithbamboo-madecontainerstotransportlivebirdstomarkets.Theresultofthecurrentstudyrevealedthatthepriceofchickenandeggsshowedvariationbetweenmonthsoftheyear.Thepercentageincreaseinmarketpricesofchickenproductsatholydaymarketdays,ascomparedtoordinarymarketdayswas19.2%forcocks,15.3%hen,24.2%forpullets/cockerelsand16%foreggs.Someofthemajormarketingproblemsidentifiedinthisstudywere:lowsupplyofmarketablechickenproducts,presenceofonlyfew/limitedmarketout-letsandlackofappropriatemarketinginformation.nbsp;Itissuggestedthatchickenandeggmarketingofvillagechickenproducerscanbeimprovedthroughdevelopmentofmarketinformationsystematfarmer#8217;slevelandstrengtheningofagriculturalextensionservices,throughtrainingsandadvisoryservices.