Structure and functioning of chickpea markets in Ethiopia: evidence based on analyses of value chains linking smallholders and markets

This paper looks into one of the key policy questions - understanding of how rural grain markets function in the context of market liberalization and how the emerging architecture of marketing channels determines the distribution of costs, margins and prices for different participants in the marketing chains. We explore these issues using the case of chickpeas, one of the newly emerging export commodities being promoted for expansion in Ethiopia. Despite its important role and good potentials, the chickpea production system is not adequately market-oriented and competitiveness of smallholders is limited by low productivity and poor quality of traditional varieties (Shiferaw et al. 2007). Despite the policy interest to expand chickpea production for exports, there is lack of empirical evidence on the structure, conduct and performance of the chickpea marketing systems in the country. This study attempts to narrow this gap by examining the chickpea marketing system in one of the major growing areas and provides new insights on how the performance of the marketing system may be enhanced to improve competitiveness. Using primary data collected from a survey of marketing channels in one of the major chickpea growing areas in the country (Ada';a-Liben), we map the marketing channels and value chains for chickpeas and estimate the distribution of costs, margins and prices for the different participants in the identified value chains. The first section presents the conceptual issues in the analyses of marketing channels, value chains and measurement of marketing costs. This is followed by description of the study area, the survey data and the empirical approach and methods used in the analysis. The next section presents the main result with emphasis on identification and mapping of chickpea marketing channels and the distribution of costs, margins and prices across different market participants. The last section presents a summary of the key findings and conclusions, highlighting implications for policy

Live animal and meat export value chains for selected areas in Ethiopia: constraints and opportunities for enhancing meat exports

The Ethiopian live animal and meat export marketing system is operating in an environment characterized by several constraints that needs the attention and action of the government and other non-governmental development organizations. Despite the reported high livestock population of the country, the major meat and live animal exporters are complaining of shortage of supply and inferior quality of animals (especially shoats). The problem could be because of the constraints in the marketing system of exporters themselves, the market information system, poor market infrastructures like road, seasonality in production, competition of the domestic and the export sector, problems in the production system, or a combination of several factors. Thus, it is imperative to identify the major factors contributing to the reported supply shortage that has hindered smooth functioning of the Ethiopian live animal and meat export market and take appropriate action as much as possible. This study, therefore, characterizes live animal and meat export value chains to determine constraints and opportunities for enhancing the efficiency of meat export from Ethiopia. The study was conducted using a Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA), which is a method that offers a quick and effective means for: learning about the main characteristics of the marketing system; mapping the supply chains, understanding constraints and opportunities, and generating information as a basis for designing follow-up research such as focused survey of value chain components and actors

Analysis of production costs, market opportunities and competitiveness of Desi and Kabuli chickpeas in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to examine the existing conditions of chickpeas in relation to production and marketing and outlines the major technological and institutional constraints for harnessing market opportunities in the chickpea sub-sector. The study determines variety introduction, market conditions and seed delivery systems in Ada'a-Liben woreda. This district is one of the major chickpea growing areas in which new market-preferred and high-value Kabuli types are being tested and promoted. Section two of this paper presents the research process and methods. This is followed by discussion of production trends, available technologies, costs and opportunities for chickpeas. An overview of the structure and organization of the chickpea marketing system is given in section four. Section five presents market conditions with emphasis on opportunities for Kabuli exports, quality requirements, grading systems, competitiveness of smallholder producers, and existing potentials in domestic markets. The final section summarizes the key findings and highlights issues for policy and future research

Ethiopian Dairy and Animal Health Policy Sector: A Stakeholders' Network Analysis

Public policy making often involves a multitude of actors. The level and nature of interaction among these actors, be it cohesion or friction, determines policy outcomes. For outsiders with the aim of influencing policy based on empirical evidence, it is imperative to know who are involved in the policy making process, the interest and influence of each actor as well as the nature and extent of their interaction. A study was conducted to analyze the Ethiopian livestock policy sector in terms of the main actors and their interaction in the dairy and animal health policy subsector. The study applied participatory stakeholders and social network analysis to identify the most important actors, their salience and network characteristics. The results indicate that a multitude of actors with diverse interests is involved in the Ethiopian dairy sector in a loosely connected network with medium level of clustering aligned along administrative tiers. The results also showed that in the existing federal administrative structure, there are no policy networks in the Ethiopian diary policy landscape that cut across regional boundaries. However, the international and federal level government actors play important role as central actors with bridging role connecting the decentralized regional and local level actors as well as in initiating policy engagement and change. This implies that there is a room for pluralistic policymaking and any attempt to influence policy in the livestock sector need to work with these international, federal and regional level actors

Epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages and strain clustering within urban and peri-urban settings in Ethiopia

Background Previous work has shown differential predominance of certain Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) lineages and sub-lineages among different human populations in diverse geographic regions of Ethiopia. Nevertheless, how strain diversity is evolving under the ongoing rapid socio-economic and environmental changes is poorly understood. The present study investigated factors associated with M. tb lineage predominance and rate of strain clustering within urban and peri-urban settings in Ethiopia. Methods Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) and Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients who visited selected health facilities were recruited in the years of 2016 and 2017. A total of 258 M. tb isolates identified from 163 sputa and 95 fine-needle aspirates (FNA) were characterized by spoligotyping and compared with international M.tb spoligotyping patterns registered at the SITVIT2 databases. The molecular data were linked with clinical and demographic data of the patients for further statistical analysis. Results From a total of 258 M. tb isolates, 84 distinct spoligotype patterns that included 58 known Shared International Type (SIT) patterns and 26 new or orphan patterns were identified. The majority of strains belonged to two major M. tb lineages, L3 (35.7%) and L4 (61.6%). The observed high percentage of isolates with shared patterns (n = 200/258) suggested a substantial rate of overall clustering (77.5%). After adjusting for the effect of geographical variations, clustering rate was significantly lower among individuals co-infected with HIV and other concomitant chronic disease. Compared to L4, the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (AOR; 95% CI) indicated that infections with L3 M. tb strains were more likely to be associated with TBLN [3.47 (1.45, 8.29)] and TB-HIV co-infection [2.84 (1.61, 5.55)]. Conclusion Despite the observed difference in strain diversity and geographical distribution of M. tb lineages, compared to earlier studies in Ethiopia, the overall rate of strain clustering suggests higher transmission and warrant more detailed investigations into the molecular epidemiology of TB and related factors

Genetic trends in CIMMYT’s tropical maize breeding pipelines

Fostering a culture of continuous improvement through regular monitoring of genetic trends in breeding pipelines is essential to improve efficiency and increase accountability. This is the first global study to estimate genetic trends across the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) tropical maize breeding pipelines in eastern and southern Africa (ESA), South Asia, and Latin America over the past decade. Data from a total of 4152 advanced breeding trials and 34,813 entries, conducted at 1331 locations in 28 countries globally, were used for this study. Genetic trends for grain yield reached up to 138 kg ha−1 yr−1 in ESA, 118 kg ha−1 yr−1 South Asia and 143 kg ha−1 yr−1 in Latin America. Genetic trend was, in part, related to the extent of deployment of new breeding tools in each pipeline, strength of an extensive phenotyping network, and funding stability. Over the past decade, CIMMYT’s breeding pipelines have significantly evolved, incorporating new tools/technologies to increase selection accuracy and intensity, while reducing cycle time. The first pipeline, Eastern Africa Product Profile 1a (EA-PP1a), to implement marker-assisted forward-breeding for resistance to key diseases, coupled with rapid-cycle genomic selection for drought, recorded a genetic trend of 2.46% per year highlighting the potential for deploying new tools/technologies to increase genetic gain

Network analysis of dairy cattle movement and associations with bovine tuberculosis spread and control in emerging dairy belts of Ethiopia

Background: Dairy cattle movement could be a major risk factor for the spread of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in emerging dairy belts of Ethiopia. Dairy cattle may be moved between farms over long distances, and hence understanding the route and frequency of the movements is essential to establish the pattern of spread of BTB between farms, which could ultimately help to inform policy makers to design cost effective control strategies. The objective of this study was, therefore, to investigate the network structure of dairy cattle movement and its influence on the transmission and prevalence of BTB in three emerging areas among the Ethiopian dairy belts, namely the cities of Hawassa, Gondar and Mekelle. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 278 farms to collect data on the pattern of dairy cattle movement for the last 5 years (September 2013 to August 2018). Visualization of the network structure and analysis of the relationship between the network patterns and the prevalence of BTB in these regions were made using social network analysis. Results: The cattle movement network structure display both scale free and small world properties implying local clustering with fewer farms being highly connected, at higher risk of infection, with the potential to act as super spreaders of BTB if infected. Farms having a history of cattle movements onto the herds were more likely to be affected by BTB (OR: 2.2) compared to farms not having a link history. Euclidean distance between farms and the batch size of animals moved on were positively correlated with prevalence of BTB. On the other hand, farms having one or more outgoing cattle showed a decrease on the likelihood of BTB infection (OR = 0.57) compared to farms which maintained their cattle. Conclusion: This study showed that the patterns of cattle movement and size of animal moved between farms contributed to the potential for BTB transmission. The few farms with the bulk of transmission potential could be efficiently targeted by control measures aimed at reducing the spread of BTB. The network structure described can also provide the starting point to build and estimate dynamic transmission models for BTB, and other infectious disease