Beef Market Chain and Opportunities for Farmers in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia
2014 年 5 巻 1 号 p. 32-37
詳細
2014 年 5 巻 1 号 p. 32-37
Most cattle raising in Cambodia is undertaken by smallholder farmers, based on a system of low nutritional input (crop residues) and high labour input. Options for increasing efficiency and introducing a market-oriented beef production system are considered a priority. This paper reports the outcomes of a cattle market chain study conducted in Kampong Cham province. Three districts were selected: Prey Chhor (paddy area), Tbong Khmum (highland area) and Kang Meas (Mekong area). A rapid market appraisal was conducted by following the market chain from producers to traders. Farmer groups, cattle brokers and small, medium and large traders were informally interviewed. Farmers in Prey Chhor frequently bought and sold draft cattle as a seasonal cycle for rice cropping. Farmers along Mekong area practiced a form of market-orientated production, buying thin cattle from other districts to fatten and sell. At all points of the market chain, interviewees reported that kilogram of meat was the basis of price. Interestingly, sale of raw meat at market (retail) is the only stage of the market chain at which weighing of meat takes place. At all other stages of the market chain, assessment of weight is undertaken by visual assessment and is therefore only an estimate. For breeding animals, their physical appearance rather than production-based measurements is the basis of price. Importantly, meat eating quality was not identified an issue of importance by farmers or cattle traders.
