Risk coping strategies of typical and entrepreneurial smallholder dairy farmers in Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in Bishoftu and Asella areas, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify the coping strategies utilized by smallholder dairy farmers in dealing with shocks and stresses encountered in dairy farming. Data were collected from September 2017 to April 2018, involving individual interviews with 120 households (60 per area), field observations, and focus group discussions. Dairy farmers were categorized into two groups (typical smallholders and entrepreneurial farmers) based on production potential, number of milking cows, and marketing practices. A STATA, version 12 software was used for analyses. The results showed that both entrepreneurial and typical dairy farmers in Asella ranked diseases and feed shortages as their main risks, closely followed by lack of access to inputs and services and milk market fluctuations. Both entrepreneurial and typical dairy farmers in Bishoftu ranked feed shortages as their main risk, followed by diseases and issues of poor genetics and reproduction. Vaccination, treatment, deworming with commercial drugs, and keeping animals and barns hygienic were the major coping strategies adopted to deal with diseases, parasites, and pests in both study areas. Major coping strategies to deal with feed shortages were utilizing crop residues, supplementary feed, fodder, and non-convectional feed. The study concludes that entrepreneurial dairy farmers have more effective coping strategies than typical dairy farmers in both study areas. It is essential for dairy farmers to comprehend the requirement to employ varied coping strategies to manage the risks involved in dairy farming to ensure the sustainability of dairy farming in the future.