scholarly journals Ecolabeling to Improve Product Quality and Reduce Environmental Impact: A Choice Experiment With Vegetable Farmers in Thailand

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwanna Praneetvatakul ◽  
Kampanat Vijitsrikamol ◽  
Pepijn Schreinemachers
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Vegetable Farmers ◽  
Quality Aspects ◽  
Wide Range

The overuse of agricultural pesticides creates high costs to ecosystems and human health. One important reason for overuse is that markets in lower-income countries do not sufficiently differentiate agricultural produce based on quality aspects, making it difficult for consumers to select safe produce. Ecolabeling is a voluntary method of certification to gain consumer trust by differentiating produce based on environmental impact. Most studies have looked at consumer preferences for ecolabels, but the preferences of producers to adopt such labels have received much less attention. This paper aims to explore farmers' choice preference for ecolabels, safe pest management methods, human health, and the environment using a choice experiment. We sampled 303 vegetable farmers from three peri-urban provinces of Bangkok, Thailand, namely Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Pathum Thani provinces. Attributes of pest management methods and outcomes included farm ecosystems, human health, ecolabels, market opportunities, training in integrated pest management, and additional farm cost. A mixed logit model was employed to quantify the effect of each attribute on farmers' preference and marginal willingness to pay for each attribute. The data show high levels of pesticide use in vegetable production as farmers try to protect their investment from a wide range of pests and diseases. Alternative control methods are not widely available and are used in an ad-hoc manner to complement pesticides rather than substitute them. Farmers' willingness to pay for an ecolabel was 222 US$/ha/crop. However, ecolabeling had a lower priority than most other attributes. We conclude that there is a need to promote alternative pest management practices alongside ecolabels to reduce the environmental impact of vegetable farming in peri-urban areas in Thailand.

scholarly journals Consumer willingness to pay for fair-trade attributes of goat meat in Kenya: A choice experiment analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-386
Author(s):  
David Jakinda Otieno ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Fair Trade ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Random Parameter ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Support Provision ◽  
Goat Meat ◽  
Domestic Markets

Fair trade is an important ethical concern in the food value chains of developed countries. However, there is a dearth of empirical insights into consumer preferences for this critical aspect in the domestic markets of developing countries. The current study analysed consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for fair-trade attributes in the goat meat value chain in Nairobi, Kenya. Choice experiment data from 270 randomly sampled consumers was analysed using the random parameter logit (RPL) model. The results show that 56% of the consumers were aware of the fair-trade concept and 64% of them were willing to pay for fair-trade-compliant practices. Specifically, consumers were willing to pay a premium of 62% to prevent child labour, 45% to support provision of medical insurance for workers in the meat value chain, 40% for direct purchase from producers, 39% for fair-trade labelling and 30% to support disabled people as part of corporate social responsibility

scholarly journals Consumer Preferences for Traditional, Neonicotinoid-free, Bee-friendly, or Biological Control Pest Management Practices on Floriculture Crops

HortScience ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi M. Wollaeger ◽  
Kristin L. Getter ◽  
Bridget K. Behe
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Production Type ◽  
Utility Scores

Neonicotinoids have recently been implicated by the media as a contributing factor to the decline of honey and bumblebees. We sought to better understand consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for traditional, neonicotinoid-free, bee-friendly, or biological control pest management practices as growers may seek alternative management practices to systemetic insecticides. We conducted a nationwide Internet survey (n = 3082), where consumers answered attitudinal, comprehension, likelihood-to-buy, and demographical questions about indoor (marketed in 10-cm pots) and outdoor (marketed in 30-cm hanging baskets or 10-cm pots) floriculture products. The likelihood-to-buy questions were analyzed using conjoint analysis to determine which attributes had the greatest part-worth scores or which ones were viewed most positively by survey respondents. Of the total participants, 65.1% (n = 2002) of the subjects had purchased an annual flowering plant in the 12 months before the survey. Respondents reported that the most important plant health and appearance factors that affect their purchasing decisions were that the flowering plants have no plant damage, while the second most important factor was that plants have no insects on them. The least important factor in the ranking of stated importance was that no neonicotinoid insecticides were used during the production of the plant. This finding may have resulted from 56.6% of all participants who reported that they did not understand the term. For those who viewed the indoor 10-cm flowering plants (n = 1052), the plant species accounted for 41.2% of the decision to purchase the plant, followed by production type (32.8%) and price (26.0%). All three product attributes were of equal importance to the subjects who viewed the outdoor 10-cm flowering plants (n = 1024), whereas only price had a lower relative importance when compared with production type and species for those who viewed the 30-cm hanging baskets (n = 1006). Across all three studies, use of the term “bee-friendly” had the greatest economic value because it had the highest part-worth utility score, or the greatest willingness-to-buy. For the subjects who viewed the outdoor plants, “bee-friendly” and “use of beneficial insects” had greater economic value (with positive part-worth utility scores), but “neonicotinoid-free” and “traditional insect control” both had negative part-worth utility scores, indicating they were valued less and detracted from the dollar value of the plant. The term “bee-friendly” was worth up to five times more to those respondents that had bought a plant in the last 12 months compared with those who had not. Therefore, if ornamental plants are labeled with pest management practices, most consumers value the term “bee-friendly” more and will likely discount products labeled “neonicotinoid-free.”

scholarly journals Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control in High Tunnel Production

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Pickett Pottorff ◽  
Karen L. Panter
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Integrated Pest Management ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Minor Crops

Crops grown in high tunnels are just as susceptible to pests and diseases as those grown under greenhouse and field conditions. Crops that lend themselves economically to this type of production system are edible and/or minor crops. Therefore, labeled pesticides for these crops are limited and sometimes nonexistent. However, there is a wide range of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies available to high tunnel producers. These strategies include biological control, which is often left out of traditional IPM programs when labeled pesticides are available. High tunnel production is very conducive to the inclusion of biological controls and allows for a truly IPM system. This article provides a selective overview of common arthropod pests and diseases encountered in high tunnels, as well as strategies that have potential for becoming best management practices in high tunnels with additional research.

scholarly journals Assessing consumer preferences and willingness to pay for organic tomatoes in Albania: a conjoint choice experiment study

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. e0114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Engjell Skreli ◽  
Drini Imami ◽  
Catherine Chan-Halbrendt ◽  
Maurizio Canavari ◽  
Edvin Zhllima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Product Attributes ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Production Type ◽  
Conjoint Choice ◽  
Conjoint Choice Experiment

Albania has potential for developing the organic agriculture sector; however, it is a new industry and constraints abound including lack of consumer preferences information for organic food. Knowledge on consumer preferences and behaviour toward organic (bio) products is crucial for market development benefiting potential entrepreneurs and government policies. They need to know the preference for preferred product attributes and willingness to pay. Tomato, which is the most important vegetable in terms of consumption and production in Albania, is the subject of this study. A conjoint choice experiment with the most important product attributes: production type (bio vs. conventional), production system (open field vs. greenhouse), origin and price were used to design the choice surveys. Four distinct classes have been identified as significant using latent class analysis. The classes are summarized as: bio-ready consumers, price sensitive consumers, variety seeking consumers and quality seeking consumers. Origin played a small influence on preference. Education and income did show some influence on preference for organic tomatoes. Although the organic food market in Albania is in its infancy stage, organic tomatoes are clearly preferred and many consumers are willing to pay a premium price.

Consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for organic eggs

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 678-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman Inanç Güney ◽  
Luca Giraldo
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Mixed Logit ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Experiment Design ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Egg Consumption

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand consumer attitudes toward organic eggs by identifying their profiles and estimating the degree of their willingness to pay (WTP) for eggs with different attributes in order to evaluate the position of organic eggs. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were collected from a face-to-face cross-sectional market survey, which involved a choice experiment design and a series of questions related to respondents’ attitudes and preferences in terms of organic egg consumption. A total of 552 consumers who are responsible for their household purchases were sampled, while the survey was performed in the major cities of seven regions of Turkey. The gathered data from the questions on consumer attitudes and preferences were analyzed using ordered probit, while the choice experiment data were analyzed through the use of conditional logit and mixed logit models. Findings Consumers perceive organic eggs to be healthy, nutritious and delicious food. In the study, we obtained three consumer groups (collectivist consumers, individualist consumers and reluctant consumers) with different characteristics in relation to organic egg consumption. When the motivations for organic egg consumption were analyzed, it was found that individual benefits have a greater impact than collectivist benefits on consumers’ choice to purchase organic eggs. According to the results of the regression analysis, consumers are willing to pay ₺0.76 more per egg for organic eggs compared to conventional eggs. Overall, consumers are reluctant to pay a premium in view of the functionality aspect of eggs. Research limitations/implications The results will help the actors within the egg industry to develop production and market-planning processes for differentiated egg markets according to consumer preferences and in terms of having the opportunity to select their ideal customer segments. Originality/value The research is the first study that analyses the motivations and the willingness of Turkish consumers to purchase organic eggs through using a choice experiment design and regression models. Original findings include the segmentation of consumers according to personal beliefs and norms. The research is also important in terms of comparing two regression model results in methodical terms. The similarity among the obtained results from the regression analysis increased the reliability of the study.

scholarly journals Willingness to Pay for Rose Attributes: Helping Provide Consumer Orientation to Breeding Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Chavez ◽  
Marco A. Palma ◽  
David H. Byrne ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Luis A. Ribera
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Consumer Orientation ◽  
Consumer Perspective ◽  
Market Trends

AbstractFloriculture value exceeds $5.8 billion in the United States. Environmental challenges, market trends, and diseases complicate breeding priorities. To inform breeders’ and geneticists’ research efforts, we set out to gather consumers’ preferences in the form of willingness to pay (WTP) for different rose attributes in a discrete choice experiment. The responses are modeled in WTP space, using polynomials to account for heterogeneity. Consumer preferences indicate that heat and disease tolerance were the most important aspects for subjects in the sample, followed by drought resistance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify breeding priorities in rosaceous plants from a consumer perspective.

scholarly journals Conserving rhinos by legal trade: Insights from a choice experiment on rhino horn consumers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoai Nam Dang Vu ◽  
Martin Reinhardt Nielsen ◽  
Jette Bredahl Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Black Market ◽  
Attribute Level ◽  
Price Difference ◽  
Positive Effect

A legal rhino horn trade is suggested to reduce poaching. To examine this proposition we conducted a choice experiment with 345 rhino horn consumers in Vietnam investigating their preferences for legality, source, price and peer experience of medicinal efficacy as attributes in their decision to purchase rhino horn. We calculated consumers’ willingness to pay for each attribute level. Consumers preferred and were willing to pay more for wild than semi-wild and farmed rhino horn but showed the strongest preference for legal horn although higher-income consumers were less concerned about legality. The number of peers having used rhino horn without positive effect reduced preference for wild-sourced horn and increased preference for legality. Hence, a legal trade in rhino horn would likely not eliminate a parallel black market. Whether poaching would be reduced depends on the price difference in the two markets, campaigns ability to change consumer preferences, and regulation efforts.

Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Nutraceuticals: A Discrete Choice Experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 167-172
Author(s):  
Siew Li Teoh ◽  
Surachat Ngorsuraches ◽  
Nai Ming Lai ◽  
Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Discrete Choice Experiment ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Consumer Preferences

Effect of information on consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay for sparkling mock wines

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (8) ◽  
pp. 2621-2638
Author(s):  
Simona Naspetti ◽  
Francesca Alberti ◽  
Massimo Mozzon ◽  
Sara Zingaretti ◽  
Raffaele Zanoli
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Sparkling Wine ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Sweet Wines ◽  
Other Information

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of information about alcohol content, organic labelling and packaging on consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) of non-alcoholic sparkling mock wines. Design/methodology/approach In a two-step study, the consumer’s expectations and overall liking of two novel brands of mock wines were investigated by focus groups followed by a common hedonic test combined with a choice experiment aimed at measuring consumer WTP. A total of 240 consumers were assigned to two tasting groups of equal size: all were presented at least one brand of mock wine, while drinkers also tasted a familiar brand of low-alcohol sweet sparkling wine. A paper-and-pencil choice experiment followed the tasting sessions. Findings The results demonstrate that participants in blind or manipulated “informed” conditions are not able to discriminate among mock wines and wine, whereas significant differences in preferences for brands under investigation appeared when labels and other information were disclosed. In effect, drinkers and non-drinkers did not differ in hedonic scores of mock wines. While younger participants exhibited the highest scores in blind liking, the overall expected liking is significantly higher for non-drinkers and women if compared, respectively, to drinkers and men. WTP for mock wines is influenced by taste, glass bottle packaging and the organic label, while mock-wine colour is not relevant. Research limitations/implications Although limited in sample size and representativeness, this study has brought some new insights into the consumption of non-alcoholic mock wines. In this study, a significant influence of blind sensory liking on WTP is demonstrated. This result has theoretical implications: while the effect of product information on WTP is well established, the relationship between hedonic scores and WTP – while theoretically consistent – is not so clear-cut in the literature. Further research is needed to confirm/disconfirm these findings. Practical implications Sparkling no-alcohol mock wines, despite their sweetness, appear not different in taste to medium-to-low APV (7.5 per cent) sweet wines. Originality/value The paper suggests that marketing of mock (no-alcohol) wines needs careful branding to elicit significant hedonic effects, while interacting sensory (blind liking) scores with price information in choice models may help to represent taste heterogeneity in WTP estimates in a better way.

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