Market Chain Analysis of White Haricot Bean: The Case of Habro District, West Hararghe Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study investigated market chain analysis of white haricot beans in the Habro district, analyzing the roles of market chain actors, market structure, conduct, performance, and factors influencing market participation using cross-sectional data from 352 farm households and 20 traders during the 2023-24 production year. Findings revealed a strong oligopolistic market structure with a concentration ratio (CR4) of 50.14% and non-transparent trader conduct due to a lack of organized market information systems. Approximately 62.5% of farmers participated in the market, with higher profitability observed when producers sold directly to primary cooperative rather than rural collectors. The Heckman two-stage model identified that factors such as sex, farm size, livestock holdings, frequency of extension contact, access to credit, cooperative membership, family size, transportation ownership, and off/non-farm income positively influenced the likelihood of market participation (Probit model), while farming experience, livestock holdings, access to credit, family size, education, quantity of beans supplied, and access to market information positively affected the extent of market participation (OLS model). Conversely, distance to the market, age of the household head, sex, and non-farm income negatively impacted the extent of participation. The study recommends policy interventions focused on capacity building through education, improving access to credit, enhancing extension services, promoting farmer group marketing, and improving infrastructure and market information dissemination to increase market efficiency and support greater participation in the white haricot bean market.