Determinants of marketing channel choice among smallholder beef cattle farmers in Ghana's forest-savannah transitional zone

Abstract

This study sought to understand the determinants of market channel choice among smallholder beef cattle farmers in Ghana's forest-savannah transitional zone. Data was collected from 200 farmers through the administration of a structured questionnaire and analysed using a multinomial logit regression model. The results revealed that the producers' level of education, herd size, mode of payment and price for cattle sold positively influence the producers' choice of marketing channel, whereas the quantity beef cattle sold, the reason for production, farmer access to extension services, years of farming experience, membership of a producers association and marketing cost negatively influenced the choice of marketing channel. The role of farmer-based associations, standardisation of the beef cattle trade, provision of market information to the producers, and profiling of the producers based on the basis of their production capacity are critical for the improvement of the businesses of the beef cattle farmers.