Analysis of camel milk value chain in the pastoral areas of eastern Ethiopia

This study was conducted to analyze camel milk value chain with the aim of characterizing the chain actors and their roles, pinpoint value chain constraints and opportunities and finally suggest interventions required for improving the performance of camel milk subsector in the pastoral areas of eastern Ethiopia. A total of three hundred fifteen key informants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Moreover, concerned organizations and institutions were accessed and available relevant documents have been searched to gather supplementary secondary information. The value chain analysis revealed that the major value chain actors are input suppliers, pastoral producers, rural and urban assemblers, wholesalers, milk market cooperative, privet processer, retailers and consumers. In spite of the existence of a substantial potential, the camel milk subsector do not make a considerable contribution to the livelihood of the pastoral communities due to production and marketing constraints. Furthermore, inefficient marketing systems coupled with poor linkages among the concerned stakeholders conspire to limit growth of subsector. Meanwhile, high demand and expanding exports directly to the relatively wealthy Middle East markets are major opportunities. It is, therefore, very important that all the constraints identified in this study need to be carefully considered and addressed. The study further suggests that, coordination and intervention strategies should be designed and applied across the entire value chain in order to develop the subsector.