ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on cattle and small stock marketing at the local level, with the objective of not only examining the extent to which marketing inefficiencies hinder the transition process in Maasailand, but also identifying constraints to the emergence of a more efficient marketing system. The performance of a marketing system has two aspects, frequently referred to as technical efficiency and price efficiency. The practices of sampled livestock traders operating in the vicinity of the Kajiado Group Ranch and Western Narok Producer sample areas and local-level butchers provide a basis for assessing market performance. The basic structure of cattle marketing is largely the same throughout Maasailand, with most initial transactions occurring at the producer’s home. Improvements in market performance will be obtained only if there are concurrent changes in the circumstances surrounding the supply and demand for livestock: national pricing policies and Maasai producers’ objectives.
