Sell or not to sell - a pastoralist's dilemma: a lesson from the slaughterhouse
Marketing strategies employed by herders in Piura, a coastal region in northern Peru, are discussed in conjunction with ecological and economic factors. Data from regional slaughterhouses' help in analyzing decisions concerning livestock offtakes and in understanding the rationale behind them. Piura is characterized by sharp weather changes, amplified by the El Nino phenomenon. The variations in precipitation and forage availability strongly affect production, structure, and dynamics of the herds and are therefore a significant component in determining the actual marketing decision strategy. Pure herders adopt an insurance strategy emphasizing a build-up of herds during abundant years in order to compensate for considerable losses caused by frequent droughts. The use of stubble and concentrated feed in coping with droughts is restricted by economic and social factors. Agropastoralists are affected not only by ecological factors but also by labor availability, agricultural cash requirements, and household needs. As a result, these goat keepers practice a capital-manipulation strategy in which goats and kids are used as a form of capital. The paper provides an empirical representation of these two marketing strategies based on slaughterhouses' records and a complementary field survey.
- Research Organization:
- Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Tel Aviv
- OSTI ID:
- 6516881
- Journal Information:
- Hum. Ecol.; (United States), Vol. 14:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
FARMS
ECOLOGY
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
LAND USE
GOATS
MARKETING
PERU
AGRICULTURE
COASTAL REGIONS
DECISION MAKING
FORAGE
MEAT
PLANNING
PRODUCTION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SURVEYS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
WEATHER
ANIMAL FEEDS
ANIMALS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ECONOMICS
ECOSYSTEMS
FOOD
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LATIN AMERICA
MAMMALS
PLANTS
RUMINANTS
SOUTH AMERICA
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
290400* - Energy Planning & Policy- Energy Resources