Strategic recommendations for livestock market development in Ethiopia

Abstract

This note summarizes the key recommendations for livestock market development we are making based on the scientific evidence generated by ICARDA and its partners over the last decade. This note is to be submitted to the State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, and is written in Amharic. The English summary will only highlight the key problems of and strategies for the development of livestock marketing in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is endowed with immense and growing livestock population. This resource is the mainstay of livelihood of millions of rural Ethiopians and is a key pillar of the country's agrarian economy. Basic indicators show however that the productivity of the livestock sector is very low and, hence, the country is hardly benefiting as much as it should from this huge resource. Smallholder farmers are the main custodians of the livestock population and the main purpose of livestock keeping is not necessarily profit making. Rather the key purposes are providing farm labor, cash income, food and drinks, insurance against agricultural risk, and social privilege. The fact that livestock production is not market oriented has a significant impact on our domestic and international livestock marketing. The challenges of livestock marketing are numerous and interwoven.