Description

Abstract: Livestock markets have a very important effect on pastoralists’ welfare. We analyzed thousands of livestock transactions in three sites in Kenya to examine market performance. Key findings include: (1) markets can exacerbate climate risks for pastoralists because livestock prices often decline during dry periods; (2) a high degree of inter-market price variability and temporal volatility occur that can lead to lower producer prices and discourage trader and pastoralist market participation; and (3) quarantines are a significant source of producer price risk because they impede commerce in the rangelands. Such problems of market inefficiency could be dealt with by investing more resources in roads, telecommunications, and security in pastoral areas. Alternative methods of animal disease control should also be considered since quarantines have a disproportionately negative effect on poor pastoral producers compared to those for highlands consumers or ranchers.