Assessments of Cereal Marketing System in Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Borana is known by its diversified agro-ecological zones ranging from low lands to mid high lands whereby different agricultural practices including cereal crops farming increasingly undertaken in response to environmental convergence. However, there was limited knowledge on production and marketing situation in study area. Thus, the project study focuses on the community’s practices towards cereal crops production and marketing, gender role in cereal crops production and marketing, level of awareness and knowhow of households towards market oriented cereal crop production and the major cereal crops marketing constraints. PRA and formal survey was undertaken to collect important data using semi-structured and structured questionnaires respectively from producers and traders. The study indicated that though about 81% of respondent have access to informal market information sources, about 60% of the respondent sold in ad hoc manners with time, market places and price condition independent. Generally, Teff was the main cash crops sold in lowland and the second cash crop next to coffee in mid-highland. However, the communities were selling their produces from their subsistent production, mostly in small volume at nearby market. Among the major market constraint lack of market information, seasonal price fluctuation and seasonal buyers’ availabilities were the most market constraints. Generally, even though the production and marketing were steady of gender equity, they were puzzled to benefit from marketing of their produces. Additionally, they were playing at the bottoms of the market channel which award the lowest marginal benefits from being selling their produces.

Keywords: Borana, cereal crops market, crop preference, market channel, market constraint