How Livestock Market Information Systems Improves Information Flow for Decision Making and Value Chain Linkages

1. Livestock Market Information Systems:
Improving Information Flow for Decision Making and
Value Chain Linkages
Sintayehu Alemayehu
DM&E Manager
Mercy Corps
21th EASP Annual Conference 28, August 2013
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. Context
• Historically, a system for collecting, analysis, storage and
dissemination of market information has been lacking
• Livestock Information Network and Knowledge System
(LINKS) project designed simple, workable, evidence-
based system for data collection and analysis which
provided a user friendly information delivery system in
East Africa
• LINKS system incorporated the Livestock Early Warning
System (LEWS) technology with market information
systems for improved marketing of livestock and risk
management.
• LINKS market information system has been adopted as a
unified national market information system by federal
Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia

3. Objective of LMIS
• Provide near real-time livestock price
and volume information to
stakeholders to facilitate marketing
decisions and early warning
–Pastoralists/livestock producers
–Traders
–Government
–Non-government organizations

4. Regional Livestock Markets
Data collection
currently in
32 Markets in
Kenya
47 Markets in
Ethiopia
40 Markets in
Tanzania

5. LMIS
Architecture
Country LMIS
Data
Ethiopia
Main Server
(ILRI)
Internet
Computer
( Web /Email )
Computer
( Web /Email )
Cell Cell
Smart
phone
Smart
phone
Information DeliveryData Collection
Country Analysis
and Reporting
Country
Data
Ethiopia
Mirror
Server
(MoA)

6. Role of LMIS in Value Chains
• Capabilities for capturing price and volume
information for livestock products (meat, milk,
hides, skins, etc)
• Can be used as a price information system for
feeds and fodders
• Strong price differentials exist between fat and
thin grade animals – provides opportunities
for fattening livestock or strategic
supplemental feeding to improve grade

7. 0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
EthiopianBirr
Date
Bahir Dar Market - Price Differentials for Mature Cattle
Fat Moderate Thin Very thin

8. Role of LMIS in Value Chains
• Build linkages across MIS for commodity,
livestock products, and livestock animal sales
– Evaluate influences of commodity price changes
on livestock value chain
– Provide opportunities for use of surplus
commodities as supplemental feed
– Common platforms of information dissemination
and transfer

9. Advantage of LMIS to Livestock market
system(Value chain)
• It can strengthen vertical linkages between livestock traders
and pastoral producers
• Make profitable for pastoralists to sell their livestock based
on informed decision
• Increase value chain efficiency and competitiveness to the
benefit of pastoralists
• Transfer of information and learning between actors —this is
key to competitiveness
• Value chain actors cooperate and have complementary
competences
• Forster competition in the market and competition for the
market

10. Challenges of LMIS
• The challenge of implementing a viable LMIS
are considerable and include the following:
– Institutional
– Technical
– Policy Issues

11. Challenges – Institutional Issues
• Weak linkages and poor working relationship
among Stakeholders.
• Lack of effective collaboration and coordination
among various organizations and institutions
involved in LMIS.
• Problems associated with overlaps between
ministries in responsibilities and execution of
LMIS.

12. Challenges – Technical Issues
• Creation of infrastructure for increased ground data
collection.
• Need for human capacity building to ensure adequate
provision of technical inputs and knowledge.
• The need to reduce the amount of field and desk
work required to produce livestock market
information (through automation of data collection,
processing and dissemination using a
software/hardware architecture that makes use of
the state-of-the-art telecommunication technologies).

13. Challenges – Policy Issues
• Lack of a strategic direction and clear policy guidelines for the
implementation of a coherent LMIS.
• Mainstreaming LMIS- program is currently funded almost
entirely by donors. There is a need for it to be weaned from the
external funding and covered from local funding and
incorporated into the local and national budgetary allocations
to create a sustainable system.

14. Lessons Learned
• Keep things simple and flexible
• Operate in partnership and build trust
• Commitment of policy makers at the federal, regional
and district levels is key. Case of East Hararegh
• Training should be at all levels (producers, traders,
extension workers, policy makers) to demonstrate how
information can be used for risk management decisions

15. Lessons Learned
• Weak Institutional linkages and poor working
relationships among stakeholders is a potential
impediments to successful implementation
• Strengthening traders, marketing cooperatives and civil
societies can bring about positive development in
implementation of LMIS

16. Achievements
• Speedy server deployed at Ministry’s headquarter & ILRI
• LMIS web portal/gateway for Ethiopia is currently hosted by MOA
• A steady flow of timely, regular and reliable livestock market
information
• Ministry personnel are successfully processing price and sales volume
data from the database and disseminating market information
• LMIS used as benchmark to begin AMIS for crops in the country
• Academic, private traders and government using the data
• Quality data available for research and policy analysis

17. Thank You