Assessment on Dairy Production, Post-Harvest Handling and Marketing Systems in Hamer Woreda of South Omo Zone

The cross sectional assessment study on dairy production system and its constraints and opportunities was conducted in Hamer woreda of south omo zone with objective of assessing dairy production system, milk and milk products handling, processing and marketing systems. A total of 180 despondence households from six peasant association with 30 respondents per each peasant association were purposely selected and interviewed by using purposive sampling method. The primary data were collected through structured questionnaires form household pastoralists and focus group discussions and secondary data was collected from zonal and woreda pastoral office. In the study area around the 35%, 29 %, 35.5 %, 52 % and 28.4 % of cattle feeding, watering, dairy milking and selling of live animal activities in the study area was accomplished by house head and son whereas 45% and 64.8 % cleaning of the barn and churning of milk was performed by the wife. On the other hand, around 55.56 % and 26% respondents reported selling the milk and milk product carried out by females (wife and daughter). Pertaining to educational status around the 83.88 % of pastoralists were illiterate which unable to read and write, 10.55 % were learned the elementary school (1- 4) and 4.44% grade between 5- 8 and 1.11% learned grade 9 and 10 formal education. On the other hand, around 25 %, 19.44 %, 15.56% and 40 % respondent replied that the main source of income in the study area was generated from the sale of live animals, sale of animal product, live animal, crop and honey, sale of forest and forest products and mixed sale of different commodity. Similarity, around the 30 . 55%, 15 %, 4.44%, and 50 % of respondent in the study area reported that they obtained milk from local dairy cow, goats, camel and both local dairy cattle and goat as milk source for human nutrition. In the study area different milking cow management attentions were implemented. Around, 36.4% respondents were replied that they have not provided any supplementary feed for their milking cows in addition to grazing on the natural pasture. However, around 63.6% of the respondents were replied that they allowed supplying feed sources for their milking cows like cutting of green grass, crop residue as supplementary feed source. On the other hand, 45.2% of the respondents were allowed their milking cows grazed with other animals in the grazing area and 32.9% respondents replied that they separately fed the milking cows from the other animals and also followed cut and carry system at home. Traditional hand milking is the only type of milking practiced and proper sanitary milking and handling practices were not followed and Docha used for milking, while Dolla and Kill used for storage and kill for milk churning and Shorka for marketing milk and milk products. The majority of the respondents around 88.2%, sell milk and milk products nearby dimeka market which the whereas around 4.2% of the respondents sell milk and milk products at home level to government workers who provide extensional and other service to communities. On the other hand, also around 0.7% sells milk and milk product to hotels at dimeka town and the rest 6.9% of the respondents sell to both at home and nearby market. A total of interviewed respondent around 33.33, 17.77, 16.67, 11.11, 8.33, 7.22, and 5.55% reported that the dairy cattle production in the study area was challenged and constrained by critical feed shortage dairy cattle diseases, recurrent drought, poor veterinary service, the lack of introduction improved dairy breed, lack of knowledge in milk and milk by product processing and lack of market channel respectively. Keywords: Dairy production, Hamer woreda, Milk processing, Milk marketing and post-harvesting