Smallholder Farmers Participation in Livestock Markets: The Case of Zambian Farmers.

Livestock production and associated products offer significant opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction, especially among the rural farmers in Zambia and other developing countries. However, smallholder livestock producers are characterized by low levels of market participation (Negassa, Rashid, and Gebremedhin 2011). Among many reasons cited in the literature, smallholder farmers do not participate in livestock markets because of remoteness of livestock producers from the main urban market centers, and poor road infrastructure that result in high transport costs. Understanding the determinants and livestock marketing behavior of smallholder farmers will contribute to the knowledge gap in the country regarding why poverty remains high even among households owning livestock.