Abstract:
Selecting appropriate market outlets ofer the opportunity for farmers to capture
a bigger share of the price paid by fnal consumers. However, smallholder farmers
in developing countries are still confronted with myriad challenges regarding selecting
proftable market outlets. Thus, the main objective of this study was to analyze determinants of market outlet choices by smallholder mango farmers in Aleta Chuko District,
Sidama Region, Ethiopia. The study’s representative 391 sample mango producers
were selected using a multi-stage sample selection technique and a cross-sectional
research approach. Descriptive statistics and the multivariate probit model were used
to analyze the data. The result of the study showed that the probability of mango
producers to choose consumer, collector, and retailer and wholesaler market outlets
was 38%, 39.4%, 41% and 25%, respectively. This shows that retailer was the most
likely chosen market outlet while wholesaler was the less likely chosen market outlet.
The joint probability of farmers to choose the four market outlets is (0.042%) lower
than the likely of not choosing four market outlets (23.21%). The result of the multivariate probit model showed that the sex of the household head, age of the household
head, educational level of the household head, the quantity of mangoes produced, size
of the land allocated for mango production, use of market information, credit access,
livestock holdings, and distance to the nearest market were all statistically and signifcantly infuencing factors in the market outlet choice behavior of mango producers.
Based on the results of this study, the government and other concerned organizations
should take action to improve the efcient marketing of mango producers in all outlets
by providing market information, expanding and following up on extension services, increasing credit access, and building roads and other marketing infrastructure
in the study area.
