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Raising offtake from cattle grazed on natural rangelands in sub‐Saharan Africa: a transaction cost economics approach
Author(s) -
Kyeyamwa Herbert,
Speelman Stijn,
Van Huylenbroeck Guido,
OpudaAsibo John,
Verbeke Wim
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2008.00315.x
Subject(s) - transaction cost , livestock , business , rangeland , agricultural economics , database transaction , economics , herd , agricultural science , pastoralism , microeconomics , geography , agroforestry , ecology , computer science , forestry , programming language , environmental science , biology
Farmers in sub‐Saharan Africa are constrained by large transaction costs associated with marketing of their livestock. However, transaction costs are often not taken into account in the analysis of factors hampering the development of livestock marketing in this region. This article empirically measures the influence of transaction costs on the offtake from cattle grazed on natural rangelands in Uganda. The study is based on the monitoring of 696 cattle transactions in three districts of Uganda from August 2004 to August 2005. The estimated models suggest that proportional transaction costs represented by the state of roads, distance to markets, and time taken to reach the market are important variables constraining market participation. In order to raise offtake from the national herd, it is essential to explicitly address these costs. One potential solution is collective action in marketing of livestock in which proportional and fixed transaction costs are reduced and shared among the group members.