Effect of livestock farmers’ access to formal markets on marketing inefficiency in Mpumalanga province, South Africa

Abstract

Livestock production is the primary source of livelihood for most farmers in Mpumalanga province. Small-scale farmers in the province are facing many challenges in the course of marketing livestock. These challenges have also hindered their efforts at improving their livelihood and economic well-being. This paper analyzed the effect of market access on marketing inefficiency in Mpumalanga with a view to developing some policy recommendations. Structured questionnaires were administered to 300 livestock farmers that were selected using stratified random sampling. The data were analyzed with two-stage least square regression. The results showed that marketing inefficiency was significantly influenced by market access, livestock composition and access to good roads. It was concluded that in order to reduce marketing inefficiency, it is paramount to improve the rural road network.