Abstract:
Different studies indicate that accessing a market is one of the frustrating challenges encountered
in small-scale pig farming. The market within the pig farming sector is regarded as competitive, with small-scale
farmers having to confront many constraints, which impede their bargaining position within the market. Although
several studies on market channels have been carried out, there has not been any on piggery farming in South
Africa. Thus, this study was carried out among small-scale pig farmers located in a redlined area in Mpumalanga
province, where the government prohibits the unauthorized movements of animals. The research aims to explore the
existing market channels and factors that influence the decision and choice of the market channels used by smallscale
pig farmers. Cross-sectional data were collected, descriptive statistics, the Tobit and fractional outcome
response models were adopted to identify the determinants of the choice of marketing channel used by the farmers.
The descriptive statistics show that about 38% of the pig farmers engaged in the local market, 21% used abattoir,
and 33% adopted auction as a market channel. Furthermore, the results from the two models showed similar
significant factors, indicating that there is little or no variation in the two models. The study recommends that access
to veterinary services and having the right breed to avoid market discrimination, among others, should be
considered to overcome the challenges related to market channel choice among small-scale pig farmers.
