ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the region's local-level marketing mechanisms, with the objectives of examining the extent to which marketing inefficiencies hinder livestock development in Maasailand and identifying constraints to the emergence of a more efficient marketing system. It aims to demonstrate a generally applicable approach for assessing the role of markets in Subsaharan Africa's livestock development. Technical efficiency is attained when goods and services are provided at minimum average cost, that is, when the least-cost combination of marketing activities are employed. The basic structure of livestock marketing mechanisms is largely the same throughout Maasailand, with most initial transactions occurring at the producer's home. Livestock traders buy stock which is then usually sold at a local market located in a town or trading center. The effect of price controls on market performance in Maasailand is considered following an examination of the conduct, and costs and returns of livestock traders.
