Market integration and value chain performance of head cabbage production in Southern Ethiopia

Despite its vital role in rural livelihoods, Southern Ethiopia’s horticultural sector faces systemic inefficiencies in agricultural value chain performance. Addressing the lack of research on the intersection of market participation, supply intensity, and structural logistical constraints, this study analyzes head cabbage market dynamics in Bonke District using primary cross-sectional data from 231 successfully completed producer questionnaires—administered via a multi-stage sampling technique across four kebeles—and 26 traders (categorized into licensed and unlicensed entities operating across formal and informal networks), analyzed via descriptive statistics and Cragg’s double-hurdle econometric model. The findings reveal a multi-tiered actor network constrained by an “infrastructure-perishability trap,” where poor roads and crop vulnerability cause severe post-harvest losses and erode bargaining power. Econometric results show that the probability of market participation (first hurdle) is significantly driven by education (dy/dx = 0.110), experience (dy/dx = 0.006), family size (dy/dx = 0.071), landholding (dy/dx = 0.116), and total production (dy/dx = 0.048), while being deterred by market distance (dy/dx = − 0.013). Conversely, supply intensity (second hurdle) is positively influenced by male household headship (dy/dx = 1.842), age (dy/dx = 0.025), landholding (dy/dx = 0.504), total production (dy/dx = 1.089), and market information access (dy/dx = 2.765), but negatively impacted by credit use (dy/dx = − 1.541) and distance (dy/dx = − 0.127). Ultimately, transforming cabbage production from a subsistence activity into a competitive, commercialized market requires integrated value chain management, prioritized rural infrastructure development, enhanced market information access, targeted credit utilization strategies, and regulatory frameworks that support both licensed and informal traders—thereby aligning local agricultural growth with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to foster sustainable agricultural development in Ethiopia.