Milk production and marketing channel decisions of smallholder farmers in the Zambian milk value chain
Date
2019-07
Authors
Cheelo, Tulumbe
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
Dairy farming is a source of livelihood and a major income source for many of the rural
Zambian farmers. The importance of the dairy sector cannot be overemphasised as its
development has capacity to increase job creation and wealth generation. The sector makes
insurmountable contributions to the nutrition status of the country and to the financial gains to
the various value chain stakeholders. In an attempt to further develop these financial gains,
several initiatives have been developed to encourage smallholder farmers’ participation in the
sector, and more so, for women and the youth. Nonetheless, there is still low participation by
these interest groups. This study aims to understand the factors that influence smallholder
farmers’ decisions to participate in the Zambian dairy value chain, and particularly in terms of
milk production and the selection of different marketing channels.
The objectives of the study are therefore to: (i) determine the factors that influence smallholder
farmers’ decisions to participate in milk production and the factors that influence milk volumes
or milk production in Zambia, (ii) identify the factors influencing the choice of milk marketing
channels among smallholder farmers in the Zambian milk value chain, and (iii) examine the
characteristics of the youth and women in the milk production, as they compare with the
characteristics of the control groups (non-youths and men).
Description
Keywords
Milk production, milk-value chain, marketing channels, smallholder farmers, youth participation, female participation, Zambia.