Intra-household decision making in Eritrea: implications on market participation and choice of marketing channels in dairy production

Abstract

This study highlights the influence of intra-household decision-making on the level of market participation and choice of marketing channels in Eritrea. Data was collected and analysed with descriptive statistics correlation, Tobit and multinomial logistic (MNL) regression. This study unveils that intra-household decisions on dairy farming were dominated by men. Tobit regression results show that farming experience, distance to the nearest processing plant, shortage of feed, number of crossbreeds, method of dairy production and choice of marketing channels had positive or negative effects on household decisions on the level of market participation. Likewise, the MNL estimation results show that household head level of education, years of dairy experience, household size, sex of household head, number of females above 14 years in a household, share of dairy income and non-farm income to total household income, frequency of extension visits, membership of cooperatives and processing milk for sale were significant variables that influenced household choice of marketing channels. It concluded that training of farmers on improved dairy practices and policies to develop infrastructures, access to formal education and effective cooperative membership by women could improve the performance of Eritrea’s dairy sector and make it attractive to the youths.

Key words: Diary farming, Eritrea, Intra-house decision making, market participation