Analysis of Actors in Chickpea Seed Supply Chain; Gondar Zuria Woreda, Ethiopia

Abstract

Chickpea provides numerous benefits to smallholder households in different ways. Increasing access to improved seed has the potential to improve the productivity of chickpea in Ethiopia. In the chickpea seed supply chain, understanding the seed source and actors’ role is important for providing quality and improved chickpea seed to farmers through creating effective seed supply chain mechanisms. The present study was carried out at Gondar Zuria Woreda in 2018. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed for the random selection of 140 sample households for individual interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative approaches. From the present study, it is possible to note that the only source of improved chickpea pre-basic and basic seeds in the study Woreda is Debre-Zeit Agricultural Research Center. Gondar Agricultural Research Center (GARC), Tsehay Farmers’ Cooperative Union, and the University of Gondar play a dominant role in improved chickpea seed production and marketing. However, these institutions have been facing a shortage of supplying breeder and pre-basic seeds. It can be concluded that the involvement of different actors in the supply chain contributes a lot to accessing improved chickpea seeds for smallholder farmers. Therefore, the governmental and non-governmental organizations should work strongly to build the capacity of seed producer cooperatives and clustered smallholder farmers.