Exploration of Challenges and Opportunities of Cattle Milk Production and Marketing: The Case of Aysaita District in Afar Regional State, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to explore the challenges and opportunities of cattle milk production and marketing in the case of the Aysaita district in the Afar National Regional State. The study was undertaken in the two purposely selected rural kebeles of the Aysaita district namely Berga and Kerbuda kebeles. Agro-pastoralists from each rural kebeles were selected using the Proportional Probability to Size (PPS) approach for each rural kebeles. A total of 120 Agro-pastoralists were selected based on the number of households in each rural kebeles. To capture gender effects in the overall production system, the sampled households in each rural kebele were stratified into female and male-headed households, which guided the determination of the number of Agro-pastoralists, using the PPS (Proportional Probability to Size) approach. For the market study, one major milk market site was purposively selected namely, the Aysaita town market based on the accessibility. The overall mean market values of cattle milk and milk product sale in dry and wet seasons were fresh cow milk per litter in dry and wet seasons were 30 Birr and 40 birrs respectively. From the study, it was noted that the existing milk production systems were affected by many constraints. There are different challenges or constraints faced in cattle milk production in the study area. These include shortage of feed, inadequate access to veterinary drugs and services, access, inadequate extension service, lack of knowledge and skills, and unavailability of credit. Marketing of milk in the study area was mainly a traditional type and women traditionally do Milk marketing. Key actors involved in the milk market chain are the producer, trader, and consumer, and fresh milk is distributed through informal and formal marketing systems. The informal market involves the direct delivery of fresh milk by producers to consumers. The contribution of milk production and marketing in the study area depends on the certain supply of accompanying inputs such as feed, veterinary services, and improved milk-marketing facilities. Based on the present study, these areas need to be explored if cattle milk production is to develop into a market-oriented business operation.