Beef Cattle Supply Status with Recent Trends and Future Prospects in Relation to Past in the Cases of Mechara Town, West Hararghe, Oromia Regional State

Abstract

This activity was conducted 2018 in Daro Labu, Mecahara town, West Hararghe Zone of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Data were collected from eight (8) butchers, ten (10) brokers and twenty (20) consumers of meat about cattle supply. According to the respondents, all of the cattle are local Hararghe breed. Most of the butchers (75%) did not participate in purchasing beef cattle rather than they used brokers for purchasing and only 25% of butchers purchase beef cattle by themselves. The supply status of beef cattle are depending on the season of the year:- which exceeds beyond requirement during holiday and time for paying cost of inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. 40% of the brokers responded that total cattle supply status is decreasing from time to time and about 60% of the respondents (brokers) responded that total cattle supply status is increasing from time to time in mechara town market. About 62.5% of the butchers have no any information about the relationship between butchery and beef cattle supply and have no worry about problems in counters them in the middle due to the shortage of beef cattle and only 37.5% of them have the information about the risk of associated beef cattle supply shortage. About 87.5% of the butchers responded that cattle supply status has been decreasing from year to year while 22.5% responded that there is no variation. All the butchery has known that animal age and breed type can affect both meat quality and quantity as well as marketability. About (87.5%) of butchers responded that they prefer at the age 4 - 6 years first followed by at the age of 2 - 4 years, thirdly they prefer at the of 6 - 8 years. No one slaughter below the age of 2 years and above of 8 years old. From this results, we observe that animals which are used for all butcheries are at the age of productive age and it needs special attention. All butchery (100%) of them have responded no one slaughter female animals (cow or heifer). Most butchers were responded that meat consumption habit increasing being they were joining the business even though the price of the meat dramatically increasing especially from Ethiopian Millennium to date. All the respondents agree that the price of the meat dramatically increasing. The average price when they started is 10 birr/kg and now a day's 240 birr/ kg.Out of 20 consumers, 80% of them were responded that demand for meat consumption is increasing from time to time even though meat quality is decreasing. All consumers agree that meat flavor is changed and have no sense of flavor due to two reasons: feed and pregnancy. Keywords : cattle supply, Mechara market, butcher, meat consumption, brokers DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-5-01 Publication date :March 31 st 2019