SMALLHOLDER DAIRYING UNDER TRANSACTIONS COSTS IN EAST-AFRICA

It is argued that dairying is vital to future viability of many snail farms in East Africa and that high transactions costs for dairy produc tion and marketing limit participation by asset- and information-poor smallholders. Case studies from Kenya and Ethiopia illustrate the role of dairy cooperatives in reducing transactions costs. Analysis of the determinants of producer prices received by a sample of dairy produce rs near Addis Ababa suggests that different levels of access to infras tructure, assets, and information explain why they contemporaneously a ccept widely different producer prices for fluid milk. (C) 1997 Elsevi er Science Ltd.