Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Apiculture is a promising on-farm enterprise, which directly and indirectly contributes to smallholder’s income in particular and nation’s economy in general. The value chain of honey in Dangila district was not developed due to lack of organized market channel. Therefore, this study was initiated to analyze honey value chain in the case of Dangila district, Awi zone of Ethiopia. The main objectives of the study were to identify the actors, activities, and the rules governing the activities in the chain, the distribution of costs and benefits among actors and to identify factors affecting farmers’ participation decision in honey marketing and volume marketed in the study area. Two stage sampling procedure was employed to select honey producer households and 144 honey producers were selected by using systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected from multiple sources including beekeepers, collectors, traders, processor and service providers by conducting survey, key informants interview, focus group discussion and personal observation. Descriptive statistics and Heckman two-stage model were used to analyze the data. The main actors participated in the honey value chain were input suppliers, producers, local honey collectors, retailers, processors and consumers. The results of the marketing costs, profits and margin analysis indicated that producers incurred the highest production cost followed by collector and the major share of the benefit from honey value chain goes to producers (88.83%). The econometric model results revealed that sex of the household head and financial incomes other than beekeeping were the significant variables that affect the market participation decision of beekeepers in the study area negatively. Other variables like education status, family size, and market information of the households affect market participation decision of beekeepers in the study area significantly and positively. The model also revealed that beekeeping experience, type of beehive owned and number of beehives used were the significant factors that determine the amount of honey supplied to the market by beekeepers positively. Therefore, focus on promoting farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing with experienced households, capacity building through training on improved honey production, increasing access to improved beehives, strengthening financial capacity of existing and establishment and strengthen of additional beekeepers cooperatives should be take in to consideration for the development of honey sub sector in the district.
Keywords: Value Chain, Honey, Market Participation, Margin