Challenges and Opportunities of Soybean Marketing in Chewaka District, Ethiopia

The pricing system for soybean is complex because it involves interactions between the markets for soybean grain, soybean meal and soybean oil. The study was undertaken with the objective of identifying and describing the constraints, challenges and opportunities of soybean production and productivity and its impact on the livelihoods of smallholder producer farmers in the area. A multi-stage random sampling techniques were employed to select a total of 153 farmers from four Kebeles. Data were collected from both primary and primary secondary sources. Descriptive statistical analysis, Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, econometrics analysis and value chain analysis were used to analyze the data. Soybean value chain analysis of the study area revealed that the main value chain actors are input suppliers, direct market actors and chain supporters. The major constraints identified are input supply constraints viz., rhizobium inoculants and different pesticides; lack of collateral to get credit, poor storage facilities, low price of the produce in market, and low negotiation (bargaining) power of producers. Moreover, the opportunities are the availability of Union and different NGOs working in soybean, strong community based seed system in the area, wide arable land for soybean production, government’s policy support for soybean sub-sector and establishments of soybean based agro-industry. Therefore, improving extension services of soybean, minimizing the transaction cost of soybean, improving the transportation access, to link producers to chain actors and facilitators, to set up demand driven soybean improvement, increase land allocation for large scale production and market information dissemination are require to improve productivity and profitability of soybean farming in the region and Ethiopia at large. Practical use of trade and marketing policies (including subsidy policies) are needed in this country to compete for the export market.