Sheep meat value chain in Menz

1. Sheep meat value chain in Menz Presented by Aschalew Tsegahun (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research) at the Inception meeting for the ‘Fodder and feed in livestock value chains in Ethiopia’ project ILRI, Addis Ababa, 21-22 February 2012

2. Outline • 1. Overview of value chain and production • 2. Input supplies and services • 3. Marketing

3. 1. Overview of sheep value chain in Menzworeda • Sheep major component of crop-livestock livelihoods • Classified as Menz type, well adapted to the area and the extensive natural grazing system • Only sick/fattening sheep usually receive supplements; hay, crop residues, grain (grass pea), and weeds

4. 1. Overview of sheep value chain in Menzworeda • Farmers also keep large ruminants, poultry and pack animals (no specialization) • Grow barley, wheat and horse bean as subsistence crops • Sheep production for slaughter and marketing through bargaining

5. 1. Feed production overview • Natural grasslands (grazing and hay) primary feed; some crop residues; negligible planted forages • Strong seasonal influence on feed quantity/quality • Grazing land communal; every community member has the right to utilize the resource; no restriction on number or kind of livestock

6. 1. Feed production overview • Hay and crop residues produced/conserved individually; also buy from market or neighbors • Communal grazing denuded & overgrazed: reduced plant vigor, less productive and unpalatable species • Recently grazing lands are being divided among farmers

7. 1. Feed production overview • Cost of purchased fodders vary by season, load and distance from market; price set by bargaining • No commercial farmer producing/selling feeds • In towns a few individuals sell concentrates and oil seed cakes (D/B & A.A. the source) • Oat (Avena sativa) in demand as food-feed crop

8. 1. Problems facing sheep production • Feed scarcity: shortage of grazing land/infertile soils, seasonal fluctuation & low quality, limited supplements • Under-nutrition results in poor reproductive performance and slow growth rates; delayed marketing

9. 1. Problems facing sheep production • Unavailability of agro- industrial by products &/or high cost • Lack of forage seeds for dissemination • Uncontrolled mating and sale of best rams before reproductive maturity

10. 1. Problems of sheep production • Internal & external parasites • Irregular vaccination program, unavailability and high cost of veterinary drugs and chemicals • Inadequate animal health service • Seasonality of domestic market for live animals • Long distance trekking before slaughter

11. 1. Possible solutions for improving sheep production in Menzworeda • Develop appropriate breeding program for smallholder farmers • Improved productive management & culling unproductive animals • Improved feeding system using available resources • Encourage commercial farmers in forage seed production, feed processing & marketing

12. 1. Possible solutions for improving sheep production in Menzworeda • Strong livestock extension system • Strong linkage between livestock production & market • Strengthen livestock health service & para-vet training • Improve access to inputs (breeding animals, feed, vet supplies)

13. 2. Inputs & services for sheep production • Natural mating; improved rams supplied by ranches • BoA supply drugs and medicines • Drugs also sold (illegally) in open markets • Hay & crop residues main feeds traded among farmers • Agric. industrial by-products only sold in towns by traders (by-products of pulse, oil seed cake, molasses)

14. 2. Problems of input supply for sheep production in Menzworeda • Supply of breeding rams does not meet demand • Unavailability &/or high cost of agro-industrial by-products & drugs • Low quality of hay & crop residues • Feed market prices not based weight but on volume

15. 2. Possible solutions for improving input supplies in Menzworeda • Design community-based integrated strategy for productivity improvement • Public commitment to develop feed resources • Incorporate feed development within the present huge soil conservation mobilization programs • Increase efficiency of AI service • Restocking of drugs and medicaments timely

16. Main market actors in Menzworeda Producer Middlemen Trader Consumer Marketing channel for live sheep markets

17. 3. Sheep marketing in Menzworeda • Farmers sell their sheep directly to consumers or middlemen traders on a per-head basis • Frequently arrive at market without a firm idea of the price they will receive, or prices in other markets; mostly engage in long negotiation

18. 3. Sheep marketing in Menzworeda • Traders have much better information and are thereby in stronger negotiating position • Traders are vehicles by which price signals are transmitted from one market to another • No agency monitors sheep prices

19. 3. Improving sheep marketing • Improve road conditions & transport facilities • Provide farmers with information to increase bargaining power and ability to make good marketing decisions • Organize marketing system with transparent linkages between producers & traders

20. 3. Improving sheep marketing • Form/strengthen agricultural cooperative marketing system • Establish small-scale processing plants • Standard product & pricing system

21. THANK YOU