Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

School of Graduate Studies

Department of Animal Sciences

Survey Questionnaire on Characterization of Cattle production and Marketing

System in Illubabor Zone, South Western Ethiopia

Enumerator Name ______________________ Date / /

1. Study area Name______________________
2. Farmers’ Association Name _____________________
3. Interviewee No. ______________________

I. Socio-economic Characteristics

1. Sex of Respondents 1. Male

2. Female

2. Age of Respondents----------------

3. Religion-----------------

4. Marital status:
1. Married 2. Single 3. Widowed 4. Divorced

5. Family size______________
Family Size amount in numbers
A Children
B Females <15
C Males < 15
D Adults
E Females >15
F Males >15
G Total

6. Educational levels of Family members.

6.1. Illiterate _____________
6.2. Grade 1-6____________
6.3 Grade 6-12___________
6.4. Higher education ______

7. Who is the head of the households /family?

1. Male 2. Female

8. Age of the head of the household-------------

9. Position of household head in the community
1. Political leader
2. Spiritual leader
3. Elder
4. Other specify

10. Who participates in the activities in the dairy farming with regards to?
Activities 1.Mother
2.Father
3.Others
A milking
B processing
C cleaning
D herding
E Sale of dairy products
F Sale of animals

11. Who takes care of fattening animals with regard to?

1.Mother
2. Father
3. Daughters
Activities 4. Sons

A Selling
B Herding
C Feeding
D Watering

12. What kind of agricultural activities are you undertaking?

1. Crop and livestock
2. Only livestock production
3. Crop only

13. Which part of your agricultural activity contributes most of the family income?
1. Crop Production 2. Live stock Production
3. Sale of fire wood and charcoal 4. Rural shop keeping

14. Is there farmers’ association and are you a member?

1. There is and I am a member
2. There is but I am not
3. There is none

15. If you are a member what benefits do you get?

1. Credit Service 2. Input Supply
16. Do you receive any help from a government and non-government Organization with
regard to cattle production?
1. Yes 2. No

17. What are the institutional support services you get?

1. Credit services
2. Health delivery
3. Input supply and distribution (forage seed, drug, and vaccines)
4. Technical advisory services on dairy production and cattle fattening

18. Have you ever participated in any beef production development project?
1. Yes 2. No

19. Have you ever participated in any dairy production development project?
1. Yes 2. No

20. What is the background of the owner or the head of the household?
1. Farmer 2. Business person
3. Government employee 4. Retired personnel 5. Other

21. When did you start the dairy farming/beef production?

1. A year ago 2. A month ago 3. A few weeks ago

22. How do you get information on dairying/beef production most of the time?
1. Radio
2. Newspaper
3. from farmer’s association
4. from extension agents
5. None

23. What are your reasons for doing dairy farming/beef production?
1. To increase the household income
2. To safeguard the family against risk such as drought
3. To use the animal products as the source of food

24. Did you have any formal training in dairying? /beef production.
1. Yes 2. No

25. If yes, for how long time did you take the training?
1. For a few days 2. For a few weeks 3. For a month

26. Where do you take the training?

1. At the FTC
2. At Woreda level
3. At the Zone level
4. At region level
II. Herd Structure
27.
Type of animals Breed and numbers
Local Cross Exotic Remark
Milking cows
Dry cows
Oxen
Calves
Male
Female
In-calf heifer
Young heifer
Bull
Goats
Sheep
Donkeys
Horses
Mules
Poultry
Total

28. Major purpose of keeping animals?

1. for milk purpose
2. for meat purpose
3. for traction
4. for cash income
5. for all above purposes

29. How much land do you have under control in hectares?

Owned Rented Total
Area under annual crops
Area under pasture
Perennials (cash crop,
fruits)
Others

III. Housing and waste Management

30. How do you house your animals?
1. in a house/enclosed barn
2. Tethered in the yard
3. Not housed at all
31. If the answer to the question 28 is (1), what is the house made from?
1.Corrugated Iron 2.Grass
1.Concrete 2.Mud
1.Stone 2.Wood
A Roof
B Wall
C Floor

32. When do house them?

1. All the time 2. Only at night

33. Do you have any conflict with your neighbors because of your livestock activities?
1. Yes 2. No

34. What are the sources of the conflict?

1. Pollution from the manure
2. Animals entering their yard

35. How do you resolve the conflict?

1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________

36. How do you dispose the cattle dung from the barn?
1. By drainage system 2. By manual labor

37. How many times are you disposing manure from the barn?
1. Once per day
2. Twice per day
3. Three times per day
4. More than three times

38. How are you utilizing dung most of the time?

1. I do not use it at all
2. It is made in to cow dung cake
3. It is used for soil fertilization
4. It is used for construction purposes

39. Do you also sell the animals dung?

1. Yes 2. No

40. Where do you usually sell your decomposed dung or cake?

1. At the farm gate 2. On the near by market

41. What is your labor source in the dairy/or beef cattle production?
1. Family labor 2. Hired labor 3. Both
42. When is your high labor demand?
1. During the peak of lactation/or during finishing time
2. during hay harvest
3. during cow dung preparation

IV. Feeds and feeding

43. What type of grazing system are you using?
1. Zero grazing 2. Semi-grazing 3. Full grazing

44. What is the source of your dairy feed/beef cattle feed?

1. Own production 2. Purchased 3. Both

45. What are the major sources of feed for your animals?
1. Natural pastures
2. Crop residues
3. Hay
4. Concentrates
Rank the feed sources above in their order of importance

46. Which types of crop residue are you using for feed?
1. Teff straw
2. Barley straw
3. Rice straw
4. Maize stalk

47. For what other purpose do you use crop residues?

1. Use as source of fuel wood
2. Used for construction purposes
3. To make household materials

48. Do you grow improved forage crops?

1. Yes 2. No

49. If yes, which forage crops?

1. Grass 2. Forage legume 3. Tree legume

50. What are your major reasons for not growing fodder crops?
1. Insufficient land
2. Insufficient labor
3. Insufficient inputs (seed, fertilizer, and cash)
4. Insufficient draft animal power
5. Feed for animals is adequate
6. Insufficient information

51. Do you buy any feed supplements for your animals?

1. Yes 2. No
52. Which feed supplements do you buy?
1. Oil seed cake
2. Cotton seed cake
3. Wheat and corn bran and middling

53. Why do you buy these feed supplements most of the time?
1. for lactating cows
2. for pregnant cows
3. for male calves
4. for female calves
5. for beef cattle

54. What kind of concentrate are you usually using to feed your cows and/or beef cattle?
1. Wheat short and bran
2. Oil seed cakes
3. Formulated ration
4. Bone meal
5. Meat meal

55. From where do you buy your concentrate feeds?

1. from the farmers’ association
2. from the ministry of agriculture
3. from private retailers
4. from the industries

56. How much do you spend on feed per month?

1. 100-200 birr/month
2. 201-300 birr/month
3. >300 birr/month

57. Do you have feed shortage during dry season?

1. Yes
2. No

58. What are the reasons for the feed shortage?

1. Poor feed conservation
2. Lack of improved forage seed
3. Land shortage

59. What are the strategies used to alleviate feed shortage

1. Conserve crop residues
2. Use of small amount of feed
3. Purchase crop residues
4. Sell animals
5. Buy hay
60. Do have feed shortage during wet season
1. Yes 2. No

61. What are the reasons for the feed shortage?

1. Poor feed conservation
2. Lack of improved forage seed
3. Land shortage

62. What is the distance traveled by animals in search of feed?

1. 1 Km
2. 2 Km
3. 3-5 Km
4. 10 Km
5. 15 and above Km

63. What is crop residues feeding calendar

Month
1. __________________
2. ___________________
3. ______________________
4. _______________________

V. Water Resources and quality

54. What sources of water are you using for your dairy animals and/or beef cattle?
1. Pipeline
2. River
3. Pond
4. Wells
5. Spring water
6. Lake

65. What is watering frequency of your animals?

1. Twice a day
2. Once a day
3. Once in two days
4. ad-libtum

66. Do you usually transport the water or bringing the animals to the rivers or pond?
1. Transport the water
2. Bringing the animals to the river or pond

67. What is the distance moved for searching water?

1. 1 Km
2. 2 Km
3. 3-5 Km
4. 10 Km
68. What is your main water related problem?
1. Scarcity
2. Parasites such as leaches
3. Unhygienic/impurity

VI. Breeds and breeding

69. What is the breed of your dairy and/or beef animals?
1. Pure breeds
2. Exotic breeds
3. Local/indigenous
4. Cross
5. Mixed

70. Do you know the pedigree of your animals?

1. Yes 2. No

71. If yes, indicate it

1. from the seller’s information
2. From the Governmental Ranches history card

72. Do you know the exotic blood type, which is present in your herd?
1. Yes 2. No

73. If yes, indicate it

1. Holstein Frisian 2. Jersey

74. Why do you keep crossbreed animals in your farm?

1. They produce higher amount of milk.
2. They produce calves faster
3. They grow better and faster
4. All

75. Do you have different problems with the different breeds of your animals?
1. Yes 2. No

76. If yes, which are the problems? (Only one best answer)
1.Local
2.Cross
3.Exotic
A Internal parasites
B External parasites
C Heat Stress
D Require more feed
77. Why do you mainly keep local cows in your herd? (Only one answer)
1. They produce bull calves for replacement of oxen
2. They are used to produce crossbred calves
3. They are easy to manage
4. They produce milk with better fat content
5. They are resistant to disease
6. All

78. From where did you get the cross bred animals originally?
1. The use of AI from cross breeding from the ministry of agriculture
2. Purchase of cross breed bull
3. Purchase of cross breed cow or heifer
4. The use of cross breed bull from the surrounding
5. Government ranches

79. What kind of breeding technique do you prefer?

1. Artificial insemination 2. Natural mating 3. None

80. How do you get your bull?

1. Own bull
2. Bull owned in common
3. Bull owned by a neighbor
4. from bull station
5. None

81. When you want to dispose (cull out) your own(s), what criterion do you use in
selecting the one(s) to dispose?
1. Old age 2. Sickness
3. Low milk production 4. Infertility

82. Why do you use AI?

1. I do have access to AI service
2. It is simpler than raising a bull
3. It is more economical than a bull service
4. I do not have a bull
5. All

83. Why do you not use AI?

1. I have no access to AI service
2. The efficiency of AI service is not good
3. I do not want to use AI services because of cultural reasons
4. I have a bull, which I can also use for other purposes

VII. Calf rearing practices

84. Do you feed your calves with colostrums at birth?
1. Yes 2. No
85. How is weaning age determined?
1. by the dam when pregnant
2. Health of the dam-forced weaning
3. Need for the milk by the family
4. Others, specify

86. What are the traditional weaning methods?

1. Piercing the nose of calf with thorns
2. Smearing of the teat with animal dung
3. Others, specify

87. At what age do you normally wean your calf?

Breeds Age
A Local
B Cross breed
C Exotic

88. Which method do you use for pre-weaning milk feeding?

1.Bucket feeding
2.Partial suckling
A Local
B Crosses
C Exotic

89. After weaning, what do you do with male calves?

1.sell
2.fatten them
3.sell as sire
A Local
B Crosses
C Exotic

VIII. Dairy and beef Animals performance

90. How many times do you milk your cows per day?
1. Morning only
2. Morning and evening
3. Morning, midday and evening
91. How many months of lactation do you normally have?
1. 1-3 months
2. 4-6 months
3. 7-9 months
4. 9-10
Local
Cross breed
Exotic
92. Do you intend to increase your level of milk production and/or beef production?
1. Yes 2. No

93. If yes, indicate

1. It maintains food production for the household
2. It is profitable (income generation)

94. If no, indicate

1. It is not as the crop production 2. It is not profitable

95. What is the main constraint out of the following constraints for your dairy and /or
beef production?
1. Feed shortage
2. High feed prices
3. Disease
4. High medicament cost
5. Shortage of land for grazing or forage development
6. Lack of capital
7. Inefficient breeding services
8. Market availability
9. All

96. Could you rank the most important ones?

1. Feed shortage
2. Diseases
3. Shortage of land
4. Capital
5. Market

IX. Milk and beef production and utilization

97. How much milk is produced per cow per day in your herd on the average, presently?
1. 1-5 liters 2. 6-10 liters 3. >10 liters

98. Who makes decision in the dairy product with regard to: -
І. Consumption
1. Male 2. Female
ІІ. Production/processing pattern
1. Male 2. Female

99. How is the milk consumed?

1. Alone 2. With meals 3. As an additional diet

100. How many times do you fatten the animals (cattle) in a year?
1. 0nly one time 2. Twice a year 3. Three times
101. Which months in a year do you prefer for selling the beef cattle?
1. September
2. January
3. April
4. Any month

102. How is it utilized?

Milk Utilization pattern Amount in liters/day
A Total Milk produced
B For calf feeding
C For home consumption
D For processing
E For sales
F For other purposes

103. Are there seasonal variations in consumption pattern?

1. Yes 2. No
104. If yes, indicate
Variation Period (months) Average yield/day
A Highest yield
B Lowest yield

105. Do you process your milk?

1. Yes 2. No

106. At what time interval do you process the milk?

1. Every week
2. Every two weeks
3. Every month
107. What materials do you use to process the milk?
1. Clay pot 2. Gourd 4. Other

X. Dairy product and live animals marketing

108. Do you have an experience of selling the dairy products?
1. Yes 2. No

109. If yes, what the dairy products you are going to sell?
1. Raw milk
2. Fermented milk (Ergo)
3. Butter
4. Butter milk
5. Cheese
6. Whey milk
Rank them in the order priority given: 1. ---- 2. ---- 3. ----- 4. ---- 5. ---- 6. -----
110. If no, what was your reason?
1. Milk is forbidden to sell due to traditional problem.
2. There is no excess milk for selling
3. No market access
4. Market place is too far

111. Why do you sell milk and milk products?

1. Surplus
2. To generate income
3. To buy agricultural inputs
4. To meet other house holds necessities
5. Other reasons (specify)

112. Which species milk is preferred by the consumers?

1. Cow milk 2. Sheep milk 3. Goat’s milk
Rank them in the order of importance 1. ----- 2. ----- 3. ------- 4. -------

113. Do you know why they preferred milk from this species?
1. Yes 2. No

114. If yes, what are the attribute preferred?

1. The color of the milk
2. The solid content of the milk
3. The fat content of the milk
4. The salt content of milk
5. Other ---------

115. From which breed of cow do you prefer to sell milk?

1. Crossbreed 2. Local cow in general
3. I don’t know others except min 4. All type of cattle

116. Is there a demand for milk in your area?

1. Yes 2. No

117. If no, what should be the probable reason?

1. Consumers did not want to buy from other producers
2. They do have their own cattle for milking
3. Others. ---------

118. If yes, where do they get?

1. from the farmers who produce in the area.
2. from the nearby town.
3. Other sources ---------
119. How much is a liter of milk in your village ________ birr/lit

120. How much is a liter of milk in your nearby town ________birr/lit

121. How far is the distance traveled to market from home to sell milk and milk products
(in Km)?
1. 10-20 Km
2. 21-40 Km
3. More than 40

122. Is there any significant price difference in the milk of cross-breed and local cow?
1. Yes 2. No

123. If yes, please indicate from which type of milk you get the highest price
1. from local in general 2. From cross-breed

124. Is there any milk taste difference between cross bred and local cow?
1. Yes 2. No

125. If yes, which type of cow milk has the best taste?
1. Crossbreed 2. Local cow in general

126. Who from the household delivers the milk to the buyers?
1. Husband 2. Wife 3. Adult male children 4. Adult female children
5. Child 6. All members of the HH 7. Hired labor
Rank them: 1. ----2. ----- 3. ----- 4. ------- 5. ----- 6. ------ 7. ------

127. Has any of your milk intended for sale been rejected because it had become sour?
1. Yes 2. No

128. If yes, what percent of the time

1 = 75 % of the time 2 = 50 % of the time 3 = 25 % of the time 4 = Specify (other) --

129. Which milking is mostly rejected?

1 = Morning 2 = Evening

130. What should be the main reason?

1. It will be sour 2. Others -----------------------
131. What is the main reason for being sour?
1 = Non availability of buyers.
2 = Because of the distance to the delivery point
3 = Because of preservation problem
4 = 2 and 3 5 = Specify (other) ----------
132. How much do you get from sale of the following product/year?
Commodity type Maximum (Birr) Minimum (Birr)

1 Raw milk
2 Butter
3 Cheese
133. When is the best time to sell more raw milk?
1 = Wet season 2 = Dry season

134. What are your probable reasons?

1. We do have more production 2. We do have more market
3. There are no more fasting periods 4. Others --------

135. When is the best time to sell more butter?

1 = Wet season 2 = Dry season

136. What are your probable reasons?

1. We do have more production 2. We do have more market
3. There are no more fasting periods 4. Others --------

137. When is the best time to sell more cheese?

1 = Wet season 2 = Dry season

138. What are your probable reasons?

1. We do have more production 2. We do have more market
3. There are no more fasting periods 4. Others --------

139. Do you obtain different prices for butter and cheese depending on how many days
you keep it before selling?
1 = Yes 2 = No 3 = No Idea

140. What are the milk marketing systems in use?

1. Formal
2. Informal

141. What are the marketing chains in your area?

1. producer-consumer
2. Producer –intermediaries –consumer
3. Others, specify
142. Who in the household decides, on how the income is spent?
(Put check mark)
Income source Husband (1) Wife (2) Both (3)
1. Income from sale of crop
2. Income from sale of animals
3. Income from sale of wool
4. Income from sale of milk
5. Income from sale of straw
6. Income from sale of cow dung
7. Income from sale of butter
8. Income from fire wood
9. Income from cheese
10. Other incomes
143. How do you overcome the household problems which have been created?
1. Selling of live animals 2. Selling of Butter 3. Selling of milk
4. Selling of crop 5. Selling of cheese 6. Others -------
Rank them with the priority: 1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____4. ____ 5. ____6. ___

144. What should be more important to be preferred by the live animals market?
1. Fattened animals 2. Only big weight 3. Lean meat 4. Others

145. What was the price of fattened animals?

Minimum ________Birr Maximum ________ Birr

146. What was your marketing place for selling your fattening animals?
1. Farm gate 2. Local kebele market 3. Woreda town main market

147. Which market is more attractive for price of live animals?

1. Farm gate 2. Local kebele market 3. Woreda town main market

148. How many Km. you went to sell your fattened animals? ______ Km.

149. Did you consider weight loss while you were trekking to the market?
1. Yes 2. No

150. If yes, how much? _____ Kg.

151. How do you alleviate this kind of problems?

1._________________
2._________________
3._________________

152. What was the price of the commodity?

Commodity unit Price of the Major buyers
products(Birr)
Wet season Dry season Wet Dry
season season

1 Live animals
Fattened ox
Fattened steer
Non fattened ox
Non fattened steer
2 Others
Codes: Major buyers: 1. Rural consumers 2. Town consumers 3. Traders 4. Others -----
153. For whom do you sell your dairy products/beef cattle?
1.To individuals
2.To caterers
3.To retailers
4.To government institution
5.To private Processing
6.To others
A Beef Cattle
B Whole Milk
C Fermented Milk
D Butter
E Butter milk

154. What criterion do you mostly use in selecting your beef cattle and/or milk marketing
out let?
1. Price
2. Distance
3. Reliability
4. Long term contract

155. Is there any period you have problem of marketing your milk and /or beef?
1. Yes 2. No

156. If yes, which months

1. Fasting months 2. In any month in the year

157. Which method are using for the delivery of your milk and /or beef cattle?
1. I or another family delivers it
2. Collected by consumers or purchasers
3. Taking to the market

158. Which transport means are you using to transport your animals and/or products for
sale most of the time?
1. Public transport
2. Traveling on foot
3. Using pack animals

159. Which gender group plays a great role in dairy production?

1. Males 2. Females 3. Both almost equally

160. Which gender group plays a great role in beef production?

1. Male 2. Female 3. Both almost equally

161. What are the major problems existed in the area? Rank them
XI. Dairy and beef cattle diseases

162. What is the main disease mainly affects your dairy and/or beef production?
1. Anthrax
2. Blackleg
3. Foot and mouth disease
4. Brucellosis
5. Mastitis
6. Internal parasites
7. Trypanosomiasis
Animals Main Disease
A Lactating cows
B Pregnant cows
C Calves
D Fattening animals

163. Do you have incidence of human beings infected with any of the diseases?
1. Yes 2. No

164. If yes, which disease

1. Anthrax 2. Blackleg 3. Brucellosis

165. Do you use any traditional or herbal remedies for your cattle?
1. Yes 2. No

166. If yes why?

1. Vet. Services are not available
2. Vet. Costs are high
3. Vet medicaments are not effective for such disease
4. No regular visit by veterinarians
5. Long distance

167. Do you use a combination of veterinary services and traditional medicines?

1. Yes 2. No

168. From where do you get veterinary Services?

1. Government institution 2. Private Vets.
3. NGOs extension services 4. Others

169. How many animals did you lose the last one-year because of diseases? Number
them?
1. Calves______ 2. Heifers______ 3. Milking cows_____ 4. Male animals_____