Value chain analysis of sheep in Atsbi
district of Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Embaye Kidanu, Mengistu Regassa and Getachew Legesse
Multi-stakeholder Workshop for Targeting Action Research on Atsbi
sheep and Abergelle goat Value Chains in Tigray, Ethiopia
Mekelle, 19-20 March 2013

Description of the study area
Atsbi-wonberta
Location 65 Km NE from Mekelle
Human population 112,639
Rain fall 667.8mm
Altitude 1800masl-3000masl
Temperature 18 0c
Livestock population 209,024
Cattle population 52496
Cow population 30,588
Peasant association 16
sheep 82950
goat 15431

Methodology
• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools
• Focused Group Discussions (FGD)
• key informants interview and
• visual observations were used to collect primary data.
• Different set of checklists were used for different group of
actors to guide group discussions and key informants
interviews
Analysis
• The data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.
Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical
analysis techniques

Results And Discussion
Mapping Core Functions Of Atsbi Sheep Value Chain

Results,…
Core functions of the value chain
1. Input supply
• Sources of the inputs (like feed, breeding stock and veterinary
service)
 farmers themselves
 bureau of agriculture
 Tigray agricultural research institute and traders
• Some times dedebit credit and saving institution gives breeds of
sheep (female) to female headed farmers on credit basis (in-
kind).
• Woreda office of agriculture and Tigray agricultural research
institute only provide veterinary service to the farmers.

Input supply,…
Breeding stock supply
 Farmers are the major source of breeding stock suppliers
(own breeding stocks)
Credit service
 DSCI
Vet service
 10 health posts (not functional)
 3 animal clinics
 three health technicians
 1 veterinarian

Feed supply
- Grazing lands
- crop residues
- crop after math
- natural browses
- Hay
5 5
Feed Availability score (1-5)
Rainfall Score (0-5)
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
months of the year
Feed Availability Rainfall Score

Results ,…
Production
• the breeds of sheep have not specific name simply they
are known as Habesha breeds
• they have good quality characteristics by meet, color
and other traits
• Short and wide tail, commonly red and to some extent
gray color, fast growing and wide backbone are the
traits describe atsbi-wonberta woreda sheep breeds.
• In addition, the breeds give birth twice a year and get
pregnant at the end of the year.

Results ,…
purpose of Sheep rearing
 solving immediate cash demands: like to pay
loan, social and cultural
expenditures, schooling, clothing, tax payments
 fulfilling household consumption expenditure: like
solving food gaps, household items (goods)
 crop production inputs: like seed, fertilizer and
chemicals
 meat for different holidays
 milk production

Type of sheep farmers commonly sold
100
90
80
70
percentage sold
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
ram (young old ewe young female castrated
male
type of sheep

Results ,…
• An average of 0.5 liter of milk from one sheep per day
• they also used to produce butter from the milk they get
• Especially, the milk from sheep is important for children
and a person who have heart problem
• The producers used unimproved breeding practice in
which most of them use random mating method
• Farmers put their sheep in housing (pen) constructed in
the homestead or around the homestead.
 Dembe (open)
 Gebela (roofed)

results,…
3. Marketing
Market places
100
percentage in each market place
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 percentage (golgol
10 naele
0
percentage(Habes)
market places for atbi sheep

Results,….
• Marketing levels (4 levels)
1st at farmers’ yard
2nd small village markets open once a week
for one day
3rd District towns (wukro and Atsbi)
4th at larger towns (like Adigrat) and in
Mekelle city.

Proportions of Sheep buyers from farmers
100
propertion of buyers of sheep from
90
80
70
60
50
farmers
40
30
20
10
0
trader farmers consumer hotels
sheep buyers from farmers

results,…
factors determine price
and demand of sheep
– Festivals/fasting and non fasting
– availability of feed
– occurrence of disease and natural calamities
– household requirements for expenditure
– consumer’s income and
Preference
• Though less significant
– factors such as animal color,
– origin,
– age have effect on animal prices. Red, Light colored
sheep, young and active sheep will have relatively higher price

Seasonality of sheep supply
100
90
80
percentage of supply of sheep
70
60
50 percentage of sheep
40 supply of Habes
percentage of sheep
30 supply golgol naele
20
10
0
months of the year

Results ,..
4. Processing
• Actors
 Export abattoir found at the capital of the region (Mekelle),
 Butcheries at different towns,
 Sheba tannery of Wukro town (leaser industry)
 Hotels and restaurants
• The Abergelle export abattoir buy
 male sheep
 weighing between 20 to 25 kg
 purchased on live weight basis
• They have three sheep measuring grades when they buy
sheep, grade A, B and C.
• The prices for different grades
 40 ETB per kg for grade A
 36.5ETB per kg for grade B
 35.7ETB per kg for grades C

Results,..
5. Consumption
• Majority of the sheep from Atsbi is for domestic
consumption
• Domestic consumers prefer Atsbi sheep for its quality of
meat and taste
• Small proportion of them which address the quality
parameters are slaughtered at the export abattoir and
supplied to foreign consumers

Marketing routs
Export
market
100% 100% Adigrat
market
Mekele
market
5%
95%
Wukro
market
15%
45% 15%
40% Atsbi town 25%
10% 60% 30% 60% Dera
primary
market
Supply source (Atsbi
H/meshal
district)
primary
market
FIG 12: MARKETING ROUTS OF ATSBI SHEEP

Results ,….
Marketing channels
Channel 1: Producer – consumer
Channel 2: Producer – small traders – consumer
Channel 3: Producer – small traders – hotel/butcheries –consumer
Channel 4: Producer – small traders – large traders –
hotels/butcheries – consumers
Channel 5: Producer –small traders – export abattoirs - consumers
Channel 6: Producer – small traders – large traders – export abattoir
– consumer
Channel 7: Producer – hotel/butcheries- consumer
Channel 8: Producers – large traders – hotels/butcheries – consumers
Channel 9: Producers – large traders – export abattoirs - consumers

Atsbi sheep value chain map
Enabling Rules and
Security Land tenure
environment Regulations
20% 20%
Consumption Export market Individual Farmers (for
consumers
breeding)
(domestic)
5% 5% 100% 5%
100% 100% 40%
Export Butcheries 5%
Processing Hotels
abattoirs
5% 60% 10% 15% 5% 20%
Marketing Small traders Big traders
35%
45% 10%
Production Sheep Producers
Input Veterinary Extension Credit
Feed Supply
Supply Services Services Services

Marketing margin analysis
Actors Buying Selling Gross Market Net Produce Rank of
price/prod price margin ing cost marketin rs share channels by
uction cost g margin producers
share
Producers 217 550 333 1.5 331 100 1
Small 550 670 120 32 88 82 2
traders
Large 700 860 160 45 115 63 3
traders
Hotels 750 1460 710 536 174 37 6
Butcheries 810 1420 610 314 295 38
5
Abattoirs 900 1230 330 193 137 44 4
Average 653 1031 377 181 196 53

Constraint of the sheep value chain
input supply
• Limited number of veterinary clinics and non-functional
animal health posts
• Shortage of veterinary drugs and equipment
• Shortage of animal health workers and skill gap among
the existing workers
• Lack of private veterinary animal health service
providers and vet drug shops
• Shortage of transportation facilities to reach farmers in
areas far from clinics and health posts

Constraints,..
Input,..
• Lack of flexibility in the credit system and the
inconvenience of having group collateral
• Lack of livestock market information
• Feed shortage
Production constraints
• Traditional Breeding practice
• Poor/traditional housing
• High incidence of disease and parasites
• Lack of awareness on improved sheep production system

Constraints ,…
Marketing constraints
• Transportation problem
• Shortage of quality sheep supply to the market
• Lack of vertical and horizontal linkage
• Seasonality of demand
Processing constraints
• Insufficient supply
• Low quality of sheep supplied to the market
• Informal Cross border trade

Conclusion
• Sheep production has great importance in Atsbi
• Sheep production unimproved
• Support services and inputs are not well developed
• Less attention given by development institutions
• Sheep marketing system is fragmented
• Weak horizontal & vertical integration among the actors
• Atsbi sheep value chain process is inefficient
• Need to design strategic intervention plans