Purchasing Patterns Of Milk And Poultry In Rural Lowlands Of Lesotho

A suivey of milk and poultry purchases was made of villagers and cafe owners in a rural lowland area of Lesotho. The purpose of the survey was to: 1) assess the current local market demand, 2) obtain baseline information on purchases of these products, 3) test a methodology for doing rural market suiveys. The survey area was selected because it was a potential site for new milk or poultry production. Villagers were systematically selected (every 5th) from a list of names provided by the village chief, and interviewed by enumerators. Villagers were informed as to the purpose of the survey and were forthcoming as to current and potential future purchases. Responses concerning current purchases seemed reasonable and reliable, however, responses concerning future purchases seemed to be over stated. Most of the milk purchased was long life, followed by fresh unpasteurized, sour milk and other types of milk. In contrast fresh milk was preferred to long life by a ratio of 5 to 1. Most of the poultry purchased was live chickens, followed by whole frozen and frozen chicken parts, preferences were also in this order. Purchases of milk was inelastic relative to household cash income, household surplus income and household size. Purchase of milk did not increase with increasing per capita income (household income divided by household size). As income rose, purchase of poultry also rose. The elasticity of poultry purchases was evident with increasing household income. Salary income or surplus income were poorer predictors of poultry purchases than total income. This suggests that income from non-salaried sources (sale of beer, crafts, and business) was preferentially spent on poultry.