Analysis of socio-economic factors influencing informal and formal market participation by beef cattle farmers in Makhado Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse socioeconomic factors influencing formal and informal market participation by beef cattle farmers. Cattle production plays an important role in the provision of food worldwide. It important for farmers to participate in the market to improve their income and livelihood. Globally, it was discovered that livestock production contribute value to the economic development of various countries. Ethiopia is one of the countries that generate more income from the livestock production. In the study area farmers participate in the lower level of market participation. They sell at informal market than formal market because of insufficient market channel. The farmers seldom sell since their sale depends on the availability of the market. Hence it was important to analyse socioeconomic factors influencing informal and formal market participation by small-scale beef cattle farmers at Makhado Local Municipality. The aim of the study was to analyse socioeconomic factors influencing informal and formal market participation of small-scale beef cattle farmers in Makhado Local Municipality. The objectives of the study were to identify, describe the socioeconomic characteristic of beef cattle, determine the level of market participation of the beef cattle and analyse the influence of socioeconomic factors in the participation of the beef cattle farmers in both the formal and informal market in Makhado local municipality. Structured questionnaires were used to interview 82 cattle farmers who participate in both informal and formal markets. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse socioeconomic characteristics of the cattle farmers. The logistic regression model was used to analyse factors that influence the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in both formal and informal markets. Lastly, market participation index tool was used to analyse the percentage of each farmer’s participation in different markets. The descriptive statistic results were showing men dominating participation in the market than women. The findings illustrate that farmers participating in the market were mostly pensioners who depend on social grant. Most of them are married and v have low level of education. The study also revealed that most beef cattle farmers are engaged in cattle farming for the purpose of sale instead of consumption. The logistic regression model results shows the coefficients for the independent variables such as gender, family size and farming experience to be significant at 1%. Age, marital status, monthly income, and distance to the market were found to be significant at 5%. Membership association were found to be significant at 10%. Educational level, extension services as well as the market information were found to be insignificant. The market participation index tool results revealed that the participation of beef cattle farmers in level 1 was 74.39%, level 2 18.29%, level 3 3.66% and lastly, in level 4, it was 3.66%. Additionally, the study revealed that only 1 farmer had a minimum score of participation of 3 and another farmer scored the highest participation of 23 out of all 82 farmers who participated in different market channels namely, homestead, village market, auctions, town market and fresh produce market. The study indicated various constraints faced by cattle farmers in both formal and informal markets. However, for a farmer to be a full participant all farmers should be able to participate in all the above-mentioned market channels. Additionally, for a farmer to increase his/her level of market participation, there is a need for each farmer to sell many cattle per year in different marketing channels mentioned above. It is also vital to increase the cattle productivity and to decrease identified constraints that negatively influence market participation of beef cattle farmers. Furthermore, constraints influencing market participation of beef cattle farmers need to be addressed to increase the sale of cattle by farmers. This requires assistance by both government and non-governmental stakeholders. Government stakeholders include extension officers, agricultural experts and veterinaries, while nongovernmental stakeholders include meat quality experts, agricultural cattle commercial farmers, and cattle farm managers.