Market Chain Actors and Their Role in Vegetable Market Chain in Dugda Woreda, Ethiopia

Abstract

The vegetable market chain actors were broadly classified into three categories: input supplier, direct market actors (producers, brokers, farmer traders, wholesalers, retailers and consumers) and enablers (extension service providers and credit providers). The study primarily focused on direct market actors. Vegetable producers sell their products to different market intermediaries and final consumers. About five vegetable marketing channels were identified. The total amount of vegetable that was transacted through these marketing channels in 2014/15 was 32,010 quintals. Channel two was found to be the dominant marketing channel in terms of volume of vegetable supply, where about 23,752 quintals of vegetable (74.2% of the total vegetable) was supplied to the market. Channel three was the second dominant market supplier, where about 6,786 quintals of vegetable (21.2%) supplied through this channel. Some market actors (brokers) were doing all types of businesses in the market chain without any license. Thus, policy implications drawn necessitate legalizing and supporting actors in the local vegetable markets and changing the role of brokers in the market and capacitating unions to supply inputs.

Keywords: Vegetable, actor, market chain, market channel