Examining Profitability, Viability, and Commercialization Level of Beef Cattle Production among Pastoralists in the Simanjiro District of the Manyara Region, Tanzania

Abstract

Beef cattle production is significant in wealth creation and improving livelihoods of pastoralists, thus reducing poverty. Nevertheless, most pastoralists continue to live in poverty. This study, thus, sought to assess the profitability, viability, and commercialization level of beef cattle production, as well as the socioeconomic characteristics among pastoralists in the Simanjiro District of the Manyara Region, Tanzania. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 398 pastoralists, using interviews and questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, gross margin (GM), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), and household commercialization index (HCI) methods were used for data analysis. The results revealed that the average age of the pastoralists was 47.7 years with a family size of 10.9. On average, the pastoralists had about 26.4 years of farming experience. Most of the pastoralists (59.3%) had no formal education. Among the pastoralists, only 3% had access to farm credits. Further analysis showed that 98.7% of pastoralists marketed their beef cattle to primary auction markets of which 75.4% of price-setting methods were inappropriate (unprofitable). Among the pastoralists, only 3.8% added value to beef cattle before selling. The average cattle herd size was 119.7 heads, of which 98.4% of cattle herd sizes were local breed cattle. Gross margin and Benefit-Cost Ratio were 136.8 US$ and 2.9, respectively, while household commercialization index was 3.9%. Medication costs constituted 44% of the total variable costs involved in beef cattle production. This study, thus, concluded that beef cattle production is profitable and highly viable to run as a business. However, the commercialization level is low. Furthermore, keeping local breed cattle, inappropriate pricing methods, low-value addition, reliance on primary auction markets, limited access to credits, low level of education, and costs for medications; continue to be critical obstacles to improving profitability, viability, and commercialization level of beef cattle production among pastoralists.

Evaluating profitability of beef cattle farming and its determinants among smallholder beef cattle farmers in the Baljovan District of Khatlon region, Tajikistan

“…This indicates that beef cattle production is a viable (profitable) enterprise in the study area. This is in line with the observations of Kibona and Yuejie [ 25 ], Mafimisebi et al [ 31 ], Nasiru et al [ 32 ], Okoruwa et al [ 33 ], and Nkadimeng et al [ 34 ], who found livestock farming to be a profitable venture.…”

“…There were around 98.2% males and 1.8% females among the 388 sampled respondents. To eliminate gender inequalities, females should indeed be motivated to participate in beef cattle production because practically all females are active in production activities, while males relocate from rural to urban areas in search of work [ 25 , 29 ]. The findings also showed that the majority of farmers had a high degree of literacy.…”

“…This means that there is a high level of accessibility to veterinary care. This increase in access to veterinary services is critical for lowering the cost of obtaining consultations required for increased beef cattle production [ 25 ].…”

“…Where, TR i stands for the total revenue of farming per beef cattle in US $, TVC i is the total variable cost per beef cattle in US $, and GM i represents the gross margin of farming per beef cattle in US$. In addition, according to Kibona and Yuejie, [ 25 ], to discover profit value, it is necessary to first determine physical values and unit prices for input and output variables, followed by a computation of producing expenses and revenues. As a result, the functional equation for the GMA model is described below.…”

“…Additionally, the TVCs were calculated by adding the expenses of husbandry labor (excluding family labor costs), medicines (treatment), feeds (silage, fodder, and other feeds like soybean meal and urea), mineral salts and vitamins, spraying or dipping, veterinary services, and some other expenses for sales and logistics. Furthermore, for this study, fixed costs were not included in gross margin estimates since fixed costs are non-quantifiable owing to the traditional managerial style utilized by smallholder beef cattle farmers [ 25 ].…”