Assessment of Local Value Chain of Garlic (Allium sativum L) in Chilgaworeda of North Gondar Zone

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) belongs to the family Alliaceae and genus Allium, and is a shallow rooted vegetable crop. It is cultivated in most countries both in the tropic and temperate zones including Ethiopia. With the aim to investigate the local value chain of garlic in Chilga district, rang of methods and techniques were used. The study has addressed smallholder garlic producers, traders and other actors involved in garlic value chain. Household survey from 129 smallholder garlic producers and 15 traders, interview of experienced farmers, focus group discussions with farmers and experts of different fields and key informant interview of concerned technical experts along with field visits and on-spot observation of the cultivation practices, infrastructure and market centers were data collection methods used. The study revealed that there is an increasing trend in term of land allocation for garlic and production over the last five year in the study area. Local variety of garlic is the only seed that smallholders are using. High cost of seed during peak times of planting, water pump, fuel and lubricant, shortage of water and associated disputes in some areas are found to be constraints in relation to input. Smallholder garlic production in Chilga areas is characterized by traditional means of cultivation and associated with occurrence of pest, diseases and field loss. There are also gaps in using the recommended packages of garlic production and the support of extension for this specific agricultural commodity. Field and post harvest loss of garlic are commonly observed problems of smallholder garlic producers mainly weight loss and contamination. The post harvest handling and processing of garlic for different purposes are traditional. As far as trading is concerned, the dominant garlic traders in Chilga are found to be retailers linking the local market with producers. The area is marked as known garlic trading center not only for local products but also garlic products of the other areas. The majority of smallholder producers get finance from their own followed by informal way of accessing credit. The attachment of the smallholder producer with formal credit institution is weak partly due to cumbersome procedures, absence of formal collateral and small and limited loan size. There are different irrigation, multipurpose and credit and saving cooperatives, which could serve as important engines to facilitate the garlic value chain development. However, they have technical and managerial problems for normal functioning and meeting the anticipated objectives. Thus, governmental and non-governmental organizations and the identified stakeholders should work more to alleviate the identified gaps. Key words: Value chain, Garlic, production and marketing