Consumers' demand for red meat attributes in Malaysia

The growth of Malaysians' per capita income has generally empowered consumers to have wider choices of food, greater purchasing power and as they become more health conscious, they begin to demand for more nutritional food in their daily intake. Motivated by the changes in Malaysian consumer's food choice, a conjoint analysis was performed to investigate the Malaysian consumers' demands for red meat attributes and how much they are willing to pay for their demanded attributes. Two hundred and five respondents from fourteen states in Malaysia were interviewed to rate the combinations of red meat attributes in the range of one to ten, with one as the least preferred, and ten as the most preferred. The findings suggested that the most important attributes for red meat products were texture, followed by freshness, packaging and point of purchase. Consumers were also willing to pay premium prices for the demanded attributes. The results would have positive implications on the agro-food industry if market responds effectively by translating these changes into business opportunities

Consumers’ demand and willingness to pay for rice attributes in Malaysia

The growth of the Malaysian’s per capita income has generally empowered consumers to have more choices for food, more purchasing power, health consciousness and demand for more nutritional values of their food intake. Motivated by the changes in Malaysian consumer’s food choice, a conjoint analysis was performed to investigate Malaysian consumers’ demand for rice attributes and how much consumers are willing to pay for the demanded attribute. A conjoint analysis is a method used in identifying and understanding the combined effects of product attributes on preferences for a product or service. In conjoint analysis, utility is the conceptual basis for assessing the value of a product or service, where individuals make decisions between bundles of products based on their budget constraints. The findings suggested that the most important attribute for rice was food safety, followed by taste and size of grain. Consumers were also willing to pay premium prices for the demanded attributes. The findings would have positive implications for the agrifood industry if it responds effectively to translate into business opportunities to these changes

Non-growers’ perspectives on home gardening: Exploring for future attraction

To achieve urban sustainability, growing vegetables at home is a practical necessity. Understanding why people are hesitant to participate in urban vegetable growing is vital to reviving this practice. An in-person survey was conducted among 244 people who do not garden at home in Sri Lanka’s Colombo district to determine their perception of not gardening. Analysis was performed with exploratory factor analysis followed by binary logistic regression. According to the study, unrealized benefits and knowledge and experience challenges cause demotivation. The respondents had favorable attitudes toward urban agriculture; their interests appear to be aligned with urban agriculture and motivation should be able to entice them. The most viable way to attract them and ensure that they reap the economic and social benefits of urban home gardening appears to be to provide knowledge and hands-on experience. Younger people, private sector workers, and single homeowners are specific population segments that can be targeted for this motivation effort. The analysis further revealed that agriculture demonstrations in an urban setting inspire non-growers to practice urban agriculture

Non-growers’ perspectives on home gardening: Exploring for future attraction

To achieve urban sustainability, growing vegetables at home is a practical necessity. Understanding why people are hesitant to participate in urban vegetable growing is vital to reviving this practice. An in-person survey was conducted among 244 people who do not garden at home in Sri Lanka’s Colombo district to determine their perception of not gardening. Analysis was performed with exploratory factor analysis followed by binary logistic regression. According to the study, unrealized benefits and knowledge and experience challenges cause demotivation. The respondents had favorable attitudes toward urban agriculture; their interests appear to be aligned with urban agriculture and motivation should be able to entice them. The most viable way to attract them and ensure that they reap the economic and social benefits of urban home gardening appears to be to provide knowledge and hands-on experience. Younger people, private sector workers, and single homeowners are specific population segments that can be targeted for this motivation effort. The analysis further revealed that agriculture demonstrations in an urban setting inspire non-growers to practice urban agriculture

Consumer preference for food attributes in Malaysia: case studies on broiler and beef

This study investigated the preferred food attributes, a critical component that determines consumer food choice, by Malaysian consumers. A case study was conducted on broiler and beef products. A conjoint analysis was performed to establish the trade-offs that consumers make between multiple sets of attributes in purchasing broiler and beef products. The findings indicated that the most preferred attribute for broiler was safety, followed by packaging, texture, and freshness. As for beef, freshness, packaging, and point of purchase were the preferred attributes. Consumers were also willing to pay higher prices for their preferred attributes

Demand for Food Safety Attributes for Vegetables in Malaysia

In a developing economy like Malaysia with rising per capita income, there have been changes in the consumer demand for food attributes such as safety, freshness, appearance and texture. This study investigated the demand for food safety attributes for vegetables. The results suggested that food safety attributes were ranked the highest for leafy and root vegetables, and ranked second behind freshness for fruit vegetables. Consumers were also willing to pay premium prices for the safety attributes. The findings would have positive implications for the agrifood industry if it responds effectively to translate into business opportunities to these changes

The impact of service quality on business commitment in B2B segment of agribusiness: an exploratory study of HORECA sector in Malaysia

In competitive markets, agribusiness firms have embarked on improving their service quality for building and maintaining a profitable relationship with their customers. However, such impact of service quality on business commitment has not been empirically investigated. To fill this gap, this study explores the relationship between service quality and commitment, using a case of supplier selection of fresh produce by hotel, restaurant, and catering (HORECA) sector in Malaysia. Using SERVQUAL as the main component of the conceptual framework, the relevant information was collected from 195 random HORECA operators and analyzed using partial least squares. The results indicate that service quality explains little of HORECA's decision to stay with their current suppliers. While most service quality factors were insignificant, "responsiveness" in term of providing delivery service had a statistically significant positive impact on HORECA's contractual arrangement with their current suppliers. These findings imply that quality service is being seen as a supplement; economic factors (e.g., prices and their stability, credit term) are likely to be the key drivers affecting buyer-seller relationships. If suppliers want to stay on course, they have to improve their service quality and focus more on delivery service. In addition, more research is needed in this relatively new area

Factors influencing the adoption of bundled sustainable agricultural practices: a systematic literature review

Farm sustainability issues are diverse but interconnected and complex. Many organizations have begun to promote packaged sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs). Some of these bundled SAPs (i.e. organic agriculture and integrated pest management) have long been employed by farmers, and studied by scientists seeking to understand their response to these alternative agricultural approaches. This paper reviews and synthesizes recent research in this area. It identifies key explanatory factors, which frequently lead to the adoption of bundled SAPs. Vote count analysis reveals that variables implying economic motivation and facilitation regularly explain farmers' behaviour. In addition, a new finding emerged, in which factors inferring higher learning and superior management capacity provided further indicators to adoption. In particular, the training that provided by non-governmental organizations and rural institutions complements change agents (i.e. public extension services). While this finding is novel, more research is required to generate better understanding of farmer reaction to bundled SAPs, particularly dynamic ones (i.e. private standards) in which farm business sustainability depends upon good agricultural practices being implemented

A review of an international sustainability standard (GlobalGAP) and its local replica (MyGAP)

In light of growing concerns about sustainable development, international sustainability standards are prevalent and are replicated by local governments to form country-specific sustainability standards. A consensus has been reached that local sustainability standards can be considered to underperform in view of their limited adoption. Supplementing the current literature, this study hypothesizes additional explanations of this phenomenon through a review of both the GlobalGAP (international) and Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices (MyGAP) standards. Through content analysis, the findings indicate that MyGAP provides a weak institutional framework and market opportunity structure. In addition, since it lacks transparency and accountability, its credibility is questionable. Although it is not clear whether such a credibility issue has a direct impact on the local market, sustainable produce is neither differentiated nor rewarded through premiums. The GlobalGAP standard was found to be an exemplar, and potential improvements are suggested to help support local sustainability standards

A means-end chain approach to explaining the adoption of good agricultural practices certification schemes: the case of Malaysian vegetable farmers

Good agricultural practices (GAP) certification schemes have been promoted to enhance agricultural sustainability. This study seeks to explain the adoption of GAP certification schemes through an analysis of the role of personal values in guiding such choice. It is a departure from approaches taken in previous studies in the area. Through the laddering interview technique of means-end chain analysis, a hierarchical value map was systematically schematized to illustrate the relationship between adoption of GAP (attributes), outcomes (consequences), and personal values driving the choice. The personal values identified in this study cluster under the headings of “better life”, “religious responsibility”, “healthy life”, and “responsible farmer”. Amongst these, the main evidence (pathways) pointed to the desire to have “better life” through the enhanced financial position that is perceived to arise as a consequence of GAP adoption as being of primary importance. These findings suggest that, while profit is not the sole end driver of adoptive behavior, GAP certification schemes have to be seen as lucrative and to enhance the goals of achieving core personal values. Other empirical information in this study also has significant policy implications. It is a key finding of this paper that effective promotions of GAP should be tailored and targeted at specific segments of the farmer population