Determinants of Raw Milk Supply and Value Addition Participation in Mecha Woreda, Amhara National Regional State, Western Ethiopia

Dairy sector has important role in supporting the national economy and livelihood of milk producers. Milk producers are one of key actors that play great role along the dairy value chain in the study area. Milk producers’ participation in milk and milk products marketing played roles in improving household welfare, and also means improved food security and reduced poverty. Though there are studies conducted on milk production, processing and utilization, there is insufficient information on determinants of milk producers’milk supply and milk value addition participation in Mecha woreda.   Thus, this study was conducted in Mecha woreda with objectives of analyzing determinants of smallholder milk producers’ participation decisions and intensity in cow milk supply and value addition. Formal survey techniques were employed to collect data. The data were collected from 200 milk producers using systematic random sampling techniques. Bivariate probit model was employed for participation decisions while recursive bivariate tobit model was used to analyze determinants of participation intensities. The econometric model result revealed that age of household head, number of local cows owned, distance of dairy products market, household milk consumption, family size, dairy farm experience, milk yield size per day, and membership in dairy cooperatives were influential variables that affected milk supply participation decision significantly. The household land size, milk consumption, distance of dairy market, milk yield per day, cooperative membership and milk market experience affected milk supply participation intensity significantly. Value addition participation decision was influenced by land size, distance of market and value addition experience positively and significantly. Distance of dairy product market, dairy farm experience, and membership in dairy cooperatives influenced value addition participation intensity significantly. In this study, improving market access by increasing number of dairy cooperatives, road and infrastructures, upgrading traditional milk products, introducing labor saving technologies, and empowering cooperatives and producers are recommended to increase smallholders’ participation in dairy products marketing. Keywords: Bivariate Tobit-Probit, milk supply participation, value addition participation DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/65-01 Publication date: February 29th 202

Policy Brief of Common Grazing Land Management in the Northern Highland Ethiopia: Review

Ethiopia is the highest with livestock population in Africa and its growth is increasing with population growth. Small holder farmers’ livelihood and the country national income is depending on livestock and crop production.  In the livestock sector, free grazing is the major feeding livestock system and communal grazing land is the main feeding source. Poor communal grazing land management leads overgrazing of communal grazing land followed by environmental degradation in particular soil erosion.   The government realized the problems but the policy effectiveness on communal grazing land is not reviewed well. This paper aimed to review common grazing land management and the policy and its effectiveness in the northern highland of Ethiopia.  The livestock population is increasing dramatically so that it is becoming high threat for common grazing land. Livestock policy was adopted in Ethiopia but the implementation is weak due to low enforcement mechanism for common grazing management. To overcome the common grazing land management problem in the near time, disincentive policies like tax per head, need to encourage private investment, increase livestock productivity and need to adopt optimum allocation livestock stock rate. DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/81-02 Publication date: December 31st 202