The present study was designed to assess the situation that characterizes the production and marketing systems of the small and medium scale commercial chicken subsector in Ethiopia. For the study total of 203 respondents were selected using a snowball sampling method and data collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Respondents grouped into the small (n=125) and medium (n=78) scales. Most of the respondents (74.4% and 84.6%) of the small and medium scale commercial chicken producers respectively were male. In the small and medium scale commercial chicken production, the respondent producers were out-growers. The majority (80.0%) of small scale commercial chicken producers had their own chicken house, while had an education status of college or university diploma/degree and were accounted for 42.4 and 60.3%, respectively in the scales. The majority (61.6%) of the small scale and (80.8%) of the medium scale commercial chicken producers were out-growers. The majority (80.0%) of small scale commercial chicken producers had their own chicken house, while (57.7%) of medium scale commercial chicken producers used rented chicken houses (P0.001). The medium scale chicken producers use factory-made feeders was significantly (P=0.002) higher (74%) than the small scale counterparts (49.6%). Similarly, the medium scale chicken producers use factory-made drinkers were significantly (P=0.001) higher (92.3%) than the small scale counterparts (72.8%). Respondents who accessed chicken feed with a radius of 50 kilometers in the small scale were 86.4% and in the medium scale 54.2%. The incidence of disease was 51.2% and 30.8%, respectively in the small and medium scales commercial farms and the mortality of chicken was higher than the permissible level. The involvement of women in cleaning of poultry house and equipment was ranging 69.2-80.0% both in the small and medium scales farms. The involvement of men in farm input and product marketing was ranging 75.6-83.3% in both small and medium scale farms. Both small and medium scale commercial chicken producers reported that the major buyer of chicken meat and egg were collectors (77.6-81.8%) and the buyers of pullets were layer keepers (71.2-79.4%). Lack of land for chicken production, shortage of day-old chicks’ supply and high price of feed were the top three constraints though respondents in both categories had ranked differently. The involvement of multiple arrays of actors both public and private in the value chain is critical to address the overall issues that affect the development of the sector.
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