Surviving amidst neglect: management and marketing practices of donkeys (Equus asinus) in Central Region of Malawi

Despite playing a pivotal role in global edible products, transport for household use, and income generation, donkey production in many developing countries has been overlooked. Revival of the industry requires various stakeholders to be involved in improving the productivity, production, and marketing of the donkeys in these countries. The Malawi government has a history of introducing donkeys into the farming system to improve farm productivity through traction and transportation for both input and output markets. However, for decades, donkey production in Malawi has been neglected in both agricultural policies and practices. This study assessed donkey production and marketing by specifically focusing on the socioeconomic characteristics of donkey farmers., current donkey production practices, and the current donkey marketing practices in Malawi. The data was collected from 168 donkey farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data included the socioeconomic characteristics of donkey farmers, donkey production practices in Malawi, and the current donkey marketing practices. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using the STATA 18 software package. The key findings show that none of the donkey farmers in the study areas had neither been trained in donkey production (0%) nor used the mating breeding technique. Although the study found that all donkeys were housed, only a few of the houses (23.3%) were made of bricks. The donkeys were mostly fed on natural grass (88.1%), and supplemented with maize bran (80.4%). The major health-related problems in donkeys were body sores (88%), mud conditions (34%), and weight loss (23.1%). The farmers in the study area practised vaccination (60%) and hygiene (30%) to prevent health-related issues. The study further found no existence of organized donkey markets, and that most farmers sold donkeys to fellow farmers. This study recommends training donkey farmers in production practices by introducing programs on donkey farming promotion and organizing farmers into groups. There is also a need to introduce a stud breeding program to avoid future genetic crushes due to inbreeding, which is now being practiced. Further, there is a need to commercialize donkey farming, formalize marketing, and improve donkey extension to help farmers use modern techniques and technologies in breeding, feeding, parasites and disease control to facilitate access to better markets.