Review on Live Animal and Meat Value Chain in Ethiopia: Challenges, Opportunities and Intervention Strategies

Jemal Hussien Ahmed

doi:10.7176/iel/9-3-04

Abstract

Livestock and meat products are among the fastest growing components of the global agriculture and food industry and one of a few agricultural commodities in Ethiopia from which the country earn foreign currency. Even though the country is ranked first in Africa and tenth in the world by livestock population, its share in global export market is quite small. This review paper is aimed to compile the existing literature on live animal and meat value chain; opportunities and challenges along the chain; and identify the leverage points and suggest upgrading strategies for live animal and meat value chain in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian meat and live animal value chain is characterized by series of complex constituents involving various actors including input suppliers, producers, collectors, fatteners/feedlots, middlemen, cooperatives, traders, live animal exporters, abattoirs, butchers, hotels and individual consumers. The country has a number of opportunities for livestock and meat market due to its strategic location, sound climatic condition, huge livestock resources and increase in domestic and foreign demand. Despite the emerging opportunities, the existing livestock and livestock products value chain are under developed due to different challenges. The main challenges faced by live animal and meat value chain actors are shortage of feed, diseases, low technology uptake, weak policies, weak financing, price fluctuation, non-market orientation, lack of weighing facilities, late payment in transactions, unreliability of supply and low quality of meat, illegal trade, lose across value chain and poor linkages between value chain actors. From this review it has been recommended that improving infrastructure specially opening secondary market at potential fattening areas, providing awareness for pastoralists on market-oriented production, supporting cooperatives, introducing a standard unit in livestock market, provision of reliable market information for pastoralists, strengthening market linkage, creation of regulatory mechanism for livestock brokers and illegal trade, value addition, innovative product development, cost-effective marketing channels and improving competitiveness of the products in export markets are important along Ethiopian live animal and meat value chains. Keywords : Challenges, Live Animal, Meat, Opportunities, Value Chain DOI : 10.7176/IEL/9-3-04 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Highlights

Agricultural sectors play a significant role in Ethiopian economy and it is the source of income, food and employment for the rural and urban populations
2.3 Live Animal and meat Value Chain Actors The livestock market is structured in such a way that the marketable livestock from the major producing areas reaches the final consumer or end-user passing through complex channels along the supply chains involving various actors including producers, middlemen, livestock trading cooperatives, traders, live animal and meat exporters
Various studies confirmed the major actors in live animal and meat value chain in Ethiopia as input supplier, producer/farmers, collectors, feedlot operators, traders, cooperatives, brokers, abattoirs, butchers, processors and consumers (AGP-LMD, 2013; Reddy and Kanna, 2015; Zekarias and Teshale, 2015; Zekarias et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

Agricultural sectors play a significant role in Ethiopian economy and it is the source of income, food and employment for the rural and urban populations. The Ethiopian meat and live animal value chains have developed over the years into a series of complex constituents involving various actors including producers, collectors, small private and cooperative fatteners/feedlots, various middlemen, livestock trading cooperatives, individual traders and exporters (AGPLMD, 2013). 2.3 Live Animal and meat Value Chain Actors The livestock market is structured in such a way that the marketable livestock from the major producing areas reaches the final consumer or end-user passing through complex channels along the supply chains involving various actors including producers, middlemen, livestock trading cooperatives, traders, live animal and meat exporters. Various studies confirmed the major actors in live animal and meat value chain in Ethiopia as input supplier, producer/farmers, collectors, feedlot operators, traders, cooperatives, brokers, abattoirs, butchers, processors and consumers (AGP-LMD, 2013; Reddy and Kanna, 2015; Zekarias and Teshale, 2015; Zekarias et al, 2017). Live Animal Exporters: Exporters collect animals from secondary markets (from big and small traders, livestock trading cooperatives, collectors and producers)

Live animal

Findings

Conclusion and Recommendations