Abstract:
This study investigates factors that influence the choice
of marketing strategies among dairy farmers in Ethiopia. The farmers
used three marketing strategies, namely, milk products marketing
(26 per cent), raw milk marketing (59 per cent), and both milk products
marketing and raw milk marketing (15 per cent). The results showed that
the following factors influenced the probability of choosing a raw milk
marketing strategy over milk products marketing: age of the household
head, proportion of crossbreed cows owned, total milk produced, distance
to the market, income per litre of milk, and cooperative membership.
Further analysis revealed that dairy farmers are better off if they utilize
the raw milk marketing strategy, which has higher returns. Farmers
who relied only on milk products marketing had significantly lower
dairy income. It is recommended that tailored efforts are channelled
towards improving access to raw milk markets by establishing more milk
collection points.
