Malt Barley Value Chain in Arsi and West Arsi highlands of Ethiopia

The study was undertaken in four districts of Arsi and West Arsi zones where malt barley is highly produced. Different participatory rural appraisal approaches were employed to conduct the study. The findings indicated that land allotted for malt barley production has been increased in the study areas since 2010, scarcity was noticed due to constraints related to quality and existence of malt barley competing outlets. Malt barley marketing is complex and dynamic where various actors are involved in its marketing. The marketing route changes over time depending on the demands at the terminal markets. Assela Malt Factory (AMF) plays a great role in determining malt barley price while producers are price takers. Among five major malt barley marketing channels only three of them are supplying to the factory. AMF accessed to 90% of malt barley from the channel via traders and the direct supply by farmers via cooperatives was not more than 10%. The channel via cooperatives which is strategic for both producers and the factory was serving below anticipated due to the financial constraints and management skill gaps of the cooperatives. Although a variety of constraints were existing at each identified nodes in the value chain, the major problems attributing to shortage of malt barley production within the country are inability to produce good quality malt barley because of poor field management, traders’ grain blending practice, weak linkage among farmers, cooperatives, AMF and absence of contract among farmers. Hence, improving input supply to enhance productivity and strengthening linkages among farmers, farmers’ cooperatives/unions and AMF are the major focus areas that call for policy interventions in the future. Keywords: cooperatives, malt barley, marketing route, traders DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-23-03 Publication date: December 31st 202

Market Integration and Price Transmission of Maize in Ethiopia

አህፅሮት  ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ከቅርብ ጊዚያት ወዲህ የዋጋ ግሽበት ከፍተኛ ችግር አየሆነ መጥቷል። አንደመፍትሄ መንግስት የተለያዩ የገበያ ዋጋን የማረጋጋት ስራዋችን ቢሰራም ለችግሩ መፍትሄ ሊሆኑ አልቻሉም። በአብዛኛው ሸማቾችና የመንግስት አካላት ለዚህ ዋነኛ ተጠያቂ የሚያደርጉት የነጋዴዎች ዋጋን አለአግባብ መጨመርና ዋጋ ሲቀንስ ደግሞ በፍጥነትና ወይም ሙሉ በሙሉ አለመቀነስ ነው። የዚህ ጥናት አላማ የነጋዴዎችን የገበያ ዋጋ ሲጨምርና ሲቀንስ፣ የሽያጭ ዋጋው አተማመን ምን ይመስላል የሚለውን ለማጥናት ነው። ጥናቱ የተከናዋነው በአስራ አምስት የበቆሎ ገበያዎች የተሰበሰበውን የመግዥና መሸጫ ዋጋ በመጠቀም ነው። የጥናቱ ግኝት እንደሚያመለክተዉ የነጋዴዎች ዋጋ ከማህል አገር (አዲስ አበባ) ሲጨምር አምብዛም የበቆሎ የሽያጭ ዋጋ አይጨምርም። አንዳውም በአንዳንድ የበቆሎ ገበያዎች (ነቀምትና መቀሌ) ነጋዴዎች የመሸጫ ዋጋ ከአዲስ አበባ ሲቀንስ እነዚህ የበቆሎ ገበያዎች ግን በፍጥነት የበቆሎ የመሽጫ ዋጋን ሲቀንሱ ታይተዋል። በአጠቃላይ ጥናቱ አንደሚያሳየው ከሆነ ነጋዴዎችን  ለዋጋ ግሽበቱ መሉ ለሙሉ ተጠያቂ ማድረግ ትክክል አንዳልሆነ ያሳያል። ነገር ግን መንግስት ዋጋን ለማረጋጋት የሚወስዳቸው ርምጃዎች ወጥና ግልጽ መሆን አለባቸው። በተለይ መንግስት የዋጋን ግሽበት የማረጋጋት ስራ በግልጽ በህግ የታገዘና የገበያ ተዋናዮችን ፍላጎት አካታች አንዲሆን ይህ ጥናት ያስገነዝባል፡፡  Abstract In this study, we investigated the presence of predatory price adjustment practices in the grain market in Ethiopia by relying on data during the post-agricultural market liberalization period from July 2004 to March 2016. We employed an Asymmetric Error Correction (AECM) model to test the presence of Asymmetric Price Transmission (APT) between integrated wholesale regional maize markets. The results demonstrate that out of 14 regional maize market pairs with the central Addis Ababa maize market, APT is confirmed in only two regional wholesale maize markets of Mek’ele and Nekemete. Hence, the widely held belief by consumers and government that traders’ inappropriate price adjustment contributes to the persistence of soaring food prices in Ethiopia is just a misconception. It is argued in this study that the recent surge in maize price in Ethiopia has little to do with APT in maize market

Price transmission in the era of global food market turmoil : the case of maize and wheat commodities in Ethiopia

This study pursued the following three objectives: (1) to test the presence of Asymmetric Price Transmission (APT) among integrated wholesale maize markets during the post-agricultural market liberalisation period from July 2004 to March 2016; (2) to understand the influence of government interventions on the performance of maize and wheat grain markets; and (3) to examine the effect of domestic supply and demand dynamics on the maize market using a partial equilibrium modelling framework. In pursuit of the first objective, this study estimated an Asymmetric Vector Error Correction Model (AVECM). Findings from the inter-regional maize market integration analysis indicated that all maize market pairs considered in this study were cointegrated with the central Addis Ababa wholesale maize market. Spatial maize market integration has not only improved, but there has been an improved complete pass-through of price signals, with no evidence of positive APT in the regional wholesale maize markets in Ethiopia. Despite the widely held belief by consumers and government that traders’ inappropriate price adjustment contributes to the persistence of soaring food prices in Ethiopia, we found no evidence to support this argument. Instead, wholesale maize traders tend to adjust homogenously to increases and decreases in maize price deviations from the central Addis Ababa maize market. Hence, the widely held perception that considers traders as constituting a main contributor to the recent soaring food price situation in Ethiopia is just a misconception. In this study, it is argued that the recent surge in grain prices in Ethiopia has little to do with APT in maize markets. The second objective employed a regime-dependent Vector Error Correction (VECM) model to examine the extent of the integration of Ethiopian wheat and maize markets with the world market and the effect of policy interventions on the spatial integration of food markets. Findings of the cointegration analysis indicate that domestic wheat and maize markets are strongly integrated with the world market during a period in which the government intervenes, as opposed to periods of low intervention. Despite the presence of a long-run relationship and absence of APT, domestic wheat prices are distorted by the government’s secretive and unplanned interventions. Domestic wheat prices have surpassed the ceiling price during periods of heavy government interventions (i.e. since 2008). We argue that the increasing price gap between domestic and world wheat markets since 2008 is due to trade flow restrictions caused by foreign exchange rationing and subsidised wheat distribution. A single commodity partial equilibrium approach was used to investigate the maize price formation and a likely impact of a bumper harvest and drought shocks on the maize market. Findings from the behavioural equations reveal that farmers respond very little to price in planning their maize acreage. Rather, the analysis demonstrated that rainfall and technological progress were relatively more important for higher maize acreage growth. Regarding the supply side shocks (a bumper harvest and drought) on maize prices, we found that a 20 per cent increase in maize yield could reduce nominal maize price by 81 per cent. This implies a decrease in maize price level of 238 per cent (110 USD/t) below the export parity price. This makes maize exports profitable, and shifts the trade regime from autarky to an export parity regime. On the other hand, the effect of drought could increase maize prices by 61 per cent in the short run (within the year). The effect could result in the domestic wholesale maize price moving over the upper threshold import parity price by 46 per cent (126 USD/t). As a result, maize imports would become profitable.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017.Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural DevelopmentPhDUnrestricte

Analysis of Costs of Production and Profitability for Irrigated Cotton under Smallholder Production Systems; the Case of Middle Awash Valley

አህፅሮትቀጣይነት ያለዉ የግብዓት ዋጋ ጭማሪና የጥጥ ምርት ዋጋ መዋዠቅ በአነስተኛ አምራቾች ዘንድ የጥጥ ምርትን ትርፋማነትና ዘለቄታዊነት ጥያቄ ዉስጥ እንዲወድቅ አድርጎታል፡፡ ይህ ጥናት በአነስተኛ አምራቾች ዘንድ በመስኖ ጥጥን ለማምረት የሚከናወኑ ተግባራትን ከትርፍ አንጻር ለመገምገም በመካከለኛዉ አዋሽ አሚባራ ወረዳ የተከናወነ ነበር፡፡ ጥናቱ 30 የሚሆኑ አነስተኛ የመስኖ ጥጥ አምራቾችን በአላማዊ ናሙና በመምረጥ የተካሄደ ሲሆን የመስኖ ጥጥ ምርት ወጪና ትርፍን ለመለካት የሚያስችሉ ገላጭና የበጀት ቴክኒኮችን ለትንተና ተጠቅሟል፡፡ በተመሳሳይ ትርፍም ኪሳራም የሌለበትን የዋጋና የምርት መጠን እንዲሁም ሊያጋጥሙ የሚችሉ ለዉጦችንና ስጋቶችን ግምት ዉስጥ በማስገባት ትንተና ተካሂዷል፡፡ ዉጤቱም እንደሚያሳየዉ የመስኖ ጥጥን ለማምረት ከሚወጡት ወጪዎች መካከል የሰዉ ጉልበት፤የኬሚካልና የማሽነሪ ወጪዎች ዋናዎቹ ሲሆኑ የባጀት ትንተናዉ ዉጤትም ጥጥ ማምረት በአነስተኛ አምራቾች ደረጃ ትርፋማ እንደሆነ አመላክቷል፡፡ በአነስተኛ አምራቾች ዘንድ ጥጥን በመስኖ ለማምረት የሚያስፈልገዉ የስራ ማስኬጃ ወጪ 20,572.17 ብር በሄክታር የነበረ ሲሆን በተመሳሳይ የተገኘዉ ትርፍ በሄክታር 10,294.23 ብር ነበር፡፡ በተጨማሪም የጥቅም-ወጪ ንጽጽር 1.49 ነበር፡፡ ትርፍ-ኪሳራ አልባ ዋጋና የምርት መጠን ደግሞ 8.35 ብር በ ኪ.ግ እና 1641.83 ኪ.ግ በሄክታር በቅድመ-ተከተል ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ በተጨማሪም ጥናቱ ከመስኖ ጥጥ የሚገኝ ትርፍ ከስራ ማስኬጃ ወጪዎች ይልቅ በምርትና በምርት ዋጋ መቀያየር የበለጠ የሚጠቃ መሆኑን አሳይቷል፡፡ ስለሆነም የጥጥን ትርፋማነትና ምርታማነት ይበልጥ ለማስቀጠል የምርት ዋጋን ማረጋጋትና ምርትን ሊያሳድጉ የሚያስችሉ ግብዓቶችን በተመጣጣኝ ዋጋ ማቅረብ እንደሚገባ ጥናቱ ያመለከተ ሲሆን የተሳለጠ የግብዓትና ምርት ግብይት ይኖር ዘንድ ማህበራትን ማደራጀት ያስፈልጋል፡፡      AbstractThe continuous increase of input costs and volatility of output prices have made the profitability and sustainability of smallholder cotton production in question. This study was carried out to examine the profitability of irrigated cotton production at Amibara district in the Middle Awash Valley under smallholder producers. 30 producers were purposively selected from the villages considered based on the predominance of irrigated cotton production. Primary data were collected for this study using well-structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and budgetary technique analysis. Likewise, break-even and sensitivity analyses were introduced to determine the break-even price and yield and to account to any changes and risks envisaged. The break-up of production cost structure showed that operational (both manual and machinery) expenses were the prominent components of all variable costs. The principal findings of the enterprise budget analysis was that smallholder irrigated cotton production was a profitable enterprise with a gross margin of 10,294.23 Birr per hectare and a total expenditure of 20,572.17 Birr per hectare. Moreover, the benefit cost ratio of 1.49 was obtained. The break-even price and break-even yield at which the producers are at no loss no profit were 8.35 Birr per kg and 1641.83 kg per hectare. Returns from irrigated cotton were highly sensitive to fluctuations of price and yield than total variable cost. Thus, efforts should be made to improve productivity through provision of appropriate agricultural inputs at the lowest possible cost and reduce price volatility by promoting primary cooperatives at district level working on input output marketing

Gender Differentials in Scale and Technical Efficiencies among Improved Wheat Variety Growers in Wheat Belt Areas of Ethiopia: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

The study employs the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the scale and technical efficiencies by gender. Primary data were obtained through the use of a set of questionnaire from two hundred eighty seven representative sample wheat plots of men and women wheat farmers from three districts of Arsi zone, Ethiopia. The results show that women farmers are more technical efficient than men farmers with mean technical efficiency indices of 0.808 and 0.700, and scale efficiency indices of 0.780 and 0.816, respectively. The second stage regression forfemale farmers indicates that fragmentation, farm size, location, technology adoption, fertility status, tenancy, extension access and credit access were found to be important determinants of technical efficiency. While for the male headed households the regression shows that positive and significant correlation between adoption of wheat technologies and efficiency. Policies should therefore target improving female wheat farmers’ access to wheat technologies, fertilizer, and extension and credit services. Due to labor and time constraints women faced, technologies generation should also be gender sensitive. In the case of male farmers future agriculture policies should focus on measures to improve the capacity of male farmers to apply the available technology more efficiently. This can be done by improving access to extension services and wheat technologies for male farmers. Keywords: Gender differentials, Data Envelopment Analysis, Scale and Technical Efficiency, Rust resistant Wheat varietie

Technical Efficiency of Lowland Rice Production in Northwest of Ethiopia

አህፅሮትለዚህ ጥናት ኮብ ዳግላስ ስቶካስቲክ ፍሮንታየር ፕሮዳክሽን ፋክሽን የተባለውን የመረጃ ትንተና ዘዴ በመጠቀም በአማራ ክልል የፎገራ ወረዳ ሩዝ አምራች የሆኑ አነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮችን የሩዝ አመራረት ሙያዊ ብቃት ደረጃና ሙያዊ ብቃታቸው ላይ ተጽንኦ የሚያደርሱትን የመለየት ስራ ሰርተናል፡፡ ለዚህ ጥናት 202 ሩዝ አምራች አርሶ አደሮችን በእጣ በመለየት በ2008/09 የምርት ዘመን መረጃዎችን ተጠቅመናል፡፡ የጥናቱ ውጤት  እንደሚያሳየው የአርሶ አደሮች አማካይ የሩዝ አመራረት ሙያዊ ብቃት  ደረጃ 85 መቶኛ ሲሆን ዝቅተኛና ከፍተኛ ሙያዊ ብቃት ደረጃም 22 እና 99 መቶኛ መሆኑ ተረጋግጧል፡፡ አነዚህ አርሶ አደሮች ሙሉ አቅማቸውን ተጠቅመው ቢሰሩ የሩዝ ምርታማነትን አሁን ካለው 3.2 ቶን በሄክታር ወደ 3.7 ቶን በሄክታር ማሳደግ ይቻላል፡፡ ስለሆነም የአርሶ አደሮችን ሩዝ የማምረት ሙያዊ ብቃታቸውን በማሻሻል የሩዝ ምርታማነትን ለማሳደግ ወደፊት ትኩረት ተሠጥቶ ሊሰራ ይገባል፡፡ይህም ሊሳካ የሚችለው የተሻለ ተቋማዊ አደረጃጀት በመፍጠርና በቂ የምርምርና ኤክስቴንሽን ድጋፍ ለአርሶ አደሮቻችን በመስጠት ነው፡፡ AbstractThis study employed the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function to measure the level and determinants of technical efficiency of smallholder rice producers in the Fogera district of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 202 rice producers sample farmers in 2016. The result of the analysis showed that the mean technical efficiency was 85 %, with a minimum and maximum efficiency level of about 22% and 99%, respectively. By operating at full technical efficiency levels, rice productivity could increase, on average, from the current 3.2 tons ha-1 to 3.7 tons ha-1. Therefore, the future direction should trigger towards enhancing rice productivity per hectare by improving technical efficiency at the farm level in addition to technological progress. Efficiency gains could be realized by designing better institutional support, improving soil fertility, focusing on livestock production and ensuring an adequate provision of research and extension support to rice farmers

Cost of Production of Coffee in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

አህፅሮት የዚህ ጥናት አላማ በአነስተኛ አርሶ-አደር ዘንድ ያለዉን የቡናን ትርፋማነት ለማጥነት ነዉ፡፡ ጥናቱ በጅማ ዞን ሊሙኮሳ፣ ጎማ፣ ማና እና ጉማይ ወረዳዎች ባጠቃላይ 90 አርሶ-አደሮችና 110 የቡና ማሳ ላይ የተደረገ ነዉ፡፡ መረጃዉ ከተሰበሰበ በኋላ ቡናዉ በአምሰት የዕድገት ደረጃዎች (ደረጃ 1 እስከ ደረጃ 5) ተከፍሏል፡፡ የጥናቱ ግኝት እንደሚያመለክተዉ ቡና በደረጃ 1 የዕድገት ደረጃ (ከማሳ ዝግጅት እስከ አነድ አመት) ከፍተኛ ወጪ (ዓመታዉ ወጪ ብር 79920.95) እና ምንም ምርት የማያስገኝበት ደረጃ ላይ ስለሆነ ኔጋቲቭ ያልተጣራ ማርጅን ያሳያል፡፡ በደረጃ 2 (ከ2-3 ዓመት ቡና) የዕድገት ደረጃም እንዲሁ ኔጋቲቭ ያልተጣራ ማርጅን ስኖረዉ ወጪዉ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ይቀንሳል (ዓመታዉ ወጪ ብር 19053.14)፡፡ ከደረጃ 3 እስከ 5 ቡናዉ ምርታማ የሚሆንበት ደረጃ ስሆን ደረጃ 3 (ከ4-8 ዓመት ቡና) ከሁሉም ደረጃዎች የበለጠ ከፍተኛ ምርት ያስገኛል (867.05 ኪ.ግ/ሄክ ቅሽር ቡና)፤ ዓመታዊ ወጪዉም ብር 22039.29 ነዉ፡፡ ነገር ግን ከፍተኛ ያልተጣራ ማርጅንና የላቀ የቡና የጥቅም-ወጪ ንፅፅር የሚገኘዉ በደረጃ 4 (ከ9-13 ዓመት ቡና) ስሆን ከዚያም እየቀነሰ ይሄዳል፡፡ ባጠቃላይ በሁሉም የዕድገት ደረጃዎች አማካይ የቡና የጥቅም-ወጪ ንፅፅር 1.13 ስሆን ይህም የቡና ትርፋማነት ዝቅተኛ መሆኑን ያሳያል፡፡ ስለሆነም ምርትን በማሳደግ ገቢን ለማሳደግ ምርጥ የቡና ዘሮችን መጠቀም፤ በሌላ በኩል ወጪን ለመቀነስ የተለያዩና አዳዲስ የፈጠራ ዘዴዎችን (ለምሳሌ ማሽኖች) መጠቀም እንደሚገባ ይህ ጥናት ያስገነዝባል፡፡    AbstractThe main objective of this study was to provide detail information on production costs and gross profits of coffee production under smallholder farmers. The study was conducted at four districts of Jimma zone namely Limu Kosa, Gomma, Manna and Gumay Districts. A total of 110 coffee plots from 90 coffee producing households were selected for this study. Data was categorized under five coffee growth stages and analysis was undertaken based on the stages. Stage I covers from coffee establishment stage to coffee age of one year. Stage II covers a coffee age of two and three years. Stage III covers coffee age of four to eight years. Stage IV covers a coffee age of nine to twelve years. Finally, stage V covers coffee age of greater or equals to thirteen years of age. Descriptive, gross margin, benefit-cost ratio, sensitivity, and break-even analysis was conducted to summarize the data. The result of the study showed that at stage I, seedling purchase cost is the most important cost. For the establishment of a hectare of new coffee and plant management until one year, Birr 79920.95 is needed. A single coffee tree need Birr 31.9 at this stage.  At stage II, the highest cost is cost of slashing followed by watering and digging.  The mean total variable cost at this stage is Birr19053.14 and the mean cost per tree is Birr 7.62. At stage III, the highest cost share goes to harvesting followed by weeding and digging. The mean per hectare total variable cost at this stage is Birr 22039.29 and the mean cost per tree is Birr 8.82. Harvesting, weeding and digging are three important cost of coffee production at stage IV. The mean total variable cost and per tree cost is Birr 18247.00 and Birr 7.3, respectively. The highest cost at stage V goes to harvesting and digging. The mean total variable cost at this stage is Birr 19843.27 and the mean per tree cost is Birr 7.94. The overall mean cost of coffee production per year per hectare of land was Birr 24696.53. The maximum clean coffee yield per hectare was observed at stage III (867.05 kg/ha). Gross Margin is negative at stage I and stage II, and it is positive and peak at stage IV. The highest benefit-cost ratio was observed at stage IV (2.01) followed by stage III (1.67). The overall gross margin was Birr 3156.40 and the benefit-cost ratio was 1.13. The study realized that high cost of production at all stages has jeopardized the gross margin. Therefore, encourage utilization of improved coffee seeds and seedlings to boost the gross return and cost minimization through utilization of different creative and innovative ideas such as machines are crucial to increase the gross margin. 

Modelling price formation and dynamics in the Ethiopian maize market

In response to the sharp rise in domestic grain prices of 2008, the Ethiopian government introduced a wide range of policy instruments to tame the soaring domestic food prices. It is generally argued that before embarking on any intervention in domestic grain market, better understanding of price formation and possible scenarios of the dynamic grain market environment is crucial for policymakers to make informed decisions. This study aimed at examining the price formation and dynamics in the Ethiopian maize market. Furthermore, this article empirically investigate spatial maize market linkages and test maize price leadership role in order to understand as to whether or not there is a central maize market that dictate and lead price information flow over regional maize markets in Ethiopia.http://jast.modares.ac.iram2018Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Cost and Benefit Analysis of Dairy Farms in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት      ይህ ጥናት የወተት ላም የወጪ-ገቢ ትንተና ለማድረግ የታቀደ ነዉ፡፡ ጥናቱ ከ35 ትናንሽ እና 25 ትላልቅ የወተት ፋርሞች ላይ የተደረገ ነዉ፡፡ መረጃዉ ከአራት እስከ ስድስት ተከታታይ ወራት የተሰበሰበ ስሆን ይህን መረጃ ለማጠናከር የወተት ፋርሞች መልካም አጋጣሚዎችና ተግዳሮቶች ተሰብስቧል፡፡ መረጃዉ የተሰበሰበዉ ፋርሙ ዉስጥ ካሉት ሁሉም የዲቃላ የወተት ላሞች ነዉ፡፡ የዚህ ምርምር ግኝት እንደሚያመለክተዉ 80 ፐርሰንት የሚሆነዉ የወተተወ ላሞች ወጪ ምግብ ነዉ፡፡ ትናንሽ ፋርሞች ከትላልቅ ፋርሞች 35 ፐርሰንት የበለጠ ወጪ ያወጣሉ፤ ነገር ግን ትላልቅ ፋርሞች ከትናንሽ ፋርሞች በ55 ፐርሰንት የበለጠ ዓመታዉ ትቅም ያገኛሉ፡፡ ትልቁ የወተት ላሞች ገቢ ከወተት ስሆን የጥጃ ገቢም በተከታይነት ትልቅ ቦታ የሚሰጠዉ ነዉ፡፡ በዚህ ጥናት ግኝት መሰረት የትላልቅ ፋርሞች ያልተጣራ ማርጂን ከትናንሽ ፋርሞች በሦስት እጥፍ እንደሚበልጥ ተረጋግጧል፡፡ የጥቅም-ወጪ ንፅፅር 1.43 እና 2.24 ለትናንሽና ለትላልቅ የወተት ፋርሞች በቅድመ ተከተል እንደሆነ ጥናቱ ያመለክታል፡፡ ይህም ትላልቅ ፋርሞች ከትናንሽ ፋርሞች የበለጠ ትርፋማ እንደሆኑ ያሚያሳይ ነዉ፡፡ የማስፋፍያ መሬት እጥረት፣ የብድር አገልግሎት አለመኖር፣ የሞያዊ ድጋፍ አለመኖር፣ የመኖና የመድሃኒት ዋጋ ንረት፣ ከፍተኛ የወት ዋጋ መለያየት፣ የማዳቀል አገልግሎት ዉጤታማ ያለመሆን፣ የጽንስ መጨናገፍ በፋርሞቹ ባለቤቶች የተነሱ ተግዳሮቶች ናቸዉ፡፡ በዚህ መሰረት ምርታማነታቸዉ ዝቅተኛ የሆኑትን ላሞች ማስወገድ፤ የላሞች ቁጥር ማብዛት፣ በስልጠና የፋርሞቹን ባለቤቶችና የማዳቀል አገልግሎት የሚሰጡትን አካላት ማብቃትና የገብያ ትስስር ማጠናከር፣ አርሶ-አደሩን በመደራጀት የመኖ ማቀነባበርያ መትከል አስፈላጊ እንደሆነ ይህ ጥናት ምክረሃሳብ ያቀርባል፡፡  Abstract  This study was conducted to estimate costs and gross profits of dairy farms under small and large diary management in central highlands of Ethiopia. Thirty-five small and 25 large farms were randomly selected. Quantitative data was collected from sampled households/farms for six to seven consecutive months. Qualitative data was also collected to supplement the quantitative data. All crossbreed milking cows of the sample households were included for the study. The result of the study showed that small commercial farms disbursed 38% more cost than large commercial dairy farms. More than 80% of the variable costs went to feed in both small and large dairy farms. The result also revealed that large dairy farms earned 55% more annual revenue than small farms. The larger revenue share was from milk sale followed by calf sale for both large and small dairy farms. The gross margin of large dairy farms was higher than the small counterparts by more than three folds. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.43 and 2.24 for small and large dairy farms, respectively, implying that large dairy farms are more profitable than small dairy farms. The benefits from both small and large dairying indicated that dairying is a beneficial business. Shortage of land, lack of credit, lack of technical support, lack of adequate market outlet, inefficiency of AI services, abortion, high price of feed and medicine were identified as the main constraints of dairy farming. It is suggested that the need to establish feed processing machines, cull unproductive cows, empower dairy farmers and key service providers through training, promoting, complementary technology packages and market infrastructures.     

Testing price leadership role in major regional maize markets in Ethiopia

The central market hypothesis or price leadership role is an important concept of market integration, and it has relevant policy implications because it simplifies market price monitoring and intervention in the grain market. Knowledge about the presence of a central market and its price dynamic effects on satellite markets will assist the effectiveness of food assistance and other humanitarian food price support interventions. This is of particular interest to constant food aid recipients such as Ethiopia. This article intends to empirically investigate as to whether or not there is a central maize market that dictate and lead price information flow over the regional wholesale maize markets in Ethiopia. If such dominant maize market exists, then how does its price affect the maize grain prices of major regional wholesale maize markets in Ethiopia? The extended VAR procedure of Toda and Yamamoto Granger Causality approach is used to test the central maize market hypothesis. Furthermore, we use the system of seemingly unrelated regression model to examine the effects of the central market price on three wholesale regional maize market prices in Ethiopia. The results indicate that Addis Ababa wholesale maize market influences the maize price formation of all regional maize markets examined in this study. Therefore, interventions targeting the central wholesale market can successfully provide a buffer for local maize surplus and consumption markets against undesirable price shocks from the central market