Socio-economic profile of livestock sellers, buyers and middlemen in livestock trading

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the socio-economic characteristics of sellers, buyers and middlemen in Telangana's livestock markets. A total of 360 respondents (120 sellers, 120 buyers and 120 middlemen) were selected using multistage stratified random sampling from 12 livestock markets across 3 zones in Telangana. A majority of sellers (65%), buyers (62.50%) and middlemen (74.17%) were middle-aged, with all middlemen (100%), majority buyers (96.67%) and most sellers (95%) being male. Education levels varied, with most sellers (41.67%) and buyers (55%) having primary education and middlemen having secondary education (39.17%). Occupation-wise, most sellers (70%) and buyers (74.17%) were engaged in both agriculture and livestock rearing, while middlemen (76.67%) focused on livestock sales. The majority of sellers (85.83%), buyers (82.50%) and middlemen (74.15%) were Hindus. In terms of caste, most sellers (66.67%), buyers (65.84%) and middlemen (72.50%) belonged to the Backward Caste. Landholding patterns showed that 59.17% of sellers and 71.67% of buyers were marginal farmers and 54.17% of middlemen were landless. A majority of sellers (68.33%), buyers (73.33%) and middlemen (75%) had medium-sized herds. Sellers' (44.17%) and buyers' (45.00%) annual income was primarily between ?2 to 3 lakhs, while middlemen earned more than ?3 lakhs (59.17%). In terms of livestock trading experience, 82.5% of sellers, 84.17% of buyers and 77.5% of middlemen had medium experience. Significant associations (P<0.05) were found between categories like age, occupation, religion, caste, family type, herd size, annual income of livestock sellers, buyers and middlemen among different zones of Telangana.