Business Model: Production and Supply of Livestock Feeding Equipment_Buta Shuta Youth Cooperative, Ethiopia

Abstract

Feed accounts for 75% of production costs for livestock farmers. A reduction in feed costs or feed productivity would significantly improve the financial situation of sheep farmers. Feed storage and feeding equipment are vital in animal husbandry. The traditional feeding system consists of storing the feed on the ground and feeding the animals from the ground, resulting in loss and contamination of the feed. A lack of equipment is the core problem in animal husbandry in Ethiopia. The aim of Buta Shuta sheep fattening youth cooperative is to diversify from fattening sheep and produce feed troughs, water troughs and feed storage racks designed and developed by Bonga Agricultural Research Center and Mizan Tepi Agricultural Production Center in south-western Ethiopia. By marketing directly to local markets and farms, the cooperative will deliver the products directly to the farmers and reduce the supply chain to the end consumer The key factor for the success of the project will be to provide the feeding equipment at a competitive price by minimizing the production costs. Given the products to be delivered and the economic situation in the area to be covered, we estimate that the project will require 141,900 Birr (USD 3000) as seed capital and will generate profit of 80,000 Birr (USD 1700) by the end of the second year.