ABSTRACT

Farmers are faced with computational and informational limitations when making marketing decisions. This holds true for Zambian dairy farmers. This study examined the factors that influence the choice of milk marketing channels among 251 smallholder farmers in Zambia participating in milk production and marketing using a multinomial logit model approach. Three milk marketing channels were identified: direct, traditional, and modern. Relative to the base category (direct), the results indicate that gender and volume of milk produced positively influenced participation in the traditional marketing channel. However, off-farm income had a negative influence on the selection of the traditional marketing channel. Gender, education, distance to major markets, and volumes of milk produced influenced the decision to participate in the modern marketing channel. There seems to be an underutilisation of the modern marketing channel. The study identified the following factors to stimulate participation in the modern marketing channel: (i) concerted value chain investments, (ii) government intervention in the form of policy changes, (iii) increased access to market information, (iv) support services, and (v) transparency in the milk value-chain. Understanding the factors that influence farmers' participation in the informal channels enables tailored policies to support the formalisation of existing structures in the informal sector.

摘要

农民在做出营销决策时面临着计算和信息方面的限制。对于赞比亚奶农来说也是如此。本研究使用多项 logit 模型方法研究了影响赞比亚 251 名参与牛奶生产和销售的小农户选择牛奶销售渠道的因素。确定了三种牛奶营销渠道：直接、传统和现代。相对于基本类别（直接），结果表明性别和牛奶产量对传统营销渠道的参与产生了积极影响。然而，非农收入对传统营销渠道的选择产生了负面影响。性别、教育、与主要市场的距离、生产的牛奶量影响了参与现代营销渠道的决定。现代营销渠道似乎没有得到充分利用。该研究确定了以下因素来刺激现代营销渠道的参与：(i) 协同价值链投资，(ii) 政府以政策变化的形式干预，(iii) 增加获取市场信息的机会，(iv) 支持服务， (v) 牛奶价值链的透明度。了解影响农民参与非正规渠道的因素，可以制定有针对性的政策，以支持非正规部门现有结构的正规化。该研究确定了以下因素来刺激现代营销渠道的参与：(i) 协同价值链投资，(ii) 政府以政策变化的形式干预，(iii) 增加获取市场信息的机会，(iv) 支持服务， (v) 牛奶价值链的透明度。了解影响农民参与非正规渠道的因素，可以制定有针对性的政策，以支持非正规部门现有结构的正规化。该研究确定了以下因素来刺激现代营销渠道的参与：(i) 协同价值链投资，(ii) 政府以政策变化的形式干预，(iii) 增加获取市场信息的机会，(iv) 支持服务， (v) 牛奶价值链的透明度。了解影响农民参与非正规渠道的因素，可以制定有针对性的政策，以支持非正规部门现有结构的正规化。