CONSUMER WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR FARM ANIMAL WELFARE IN GERMANY - THE CASE OF BROILER

Estimating the value consumers place on farm animal welfare (FAW) can predict the extent to which consumers are ready to support policy changes aimed at improving the welfare of farm animals and developing animal-friendly production systems that can also compete on markets. This study aimed at exploring consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for broiler meat in Germany which is certified as having been produced under a system that caters for FAW. In addition, logistic and linear regression models were estimated to examine the factors affecting consumers’ decision to buy certified FAW products. The data was obtained from a survey of 300 German broiler consumers, which was designed using the contingent valuation methodology. The results showed that 82% of the respondents were ready to buy certified FAW products. A majority of these (95%) were willing to pay an extra sum of about €1.5 for 1 kg of the certified FAW broiler fillets. This represents a price increase of about 27% in comparison with the actual price of conventional broiler fillets. The WTP estimates reveal that there is a potential for improvement of FAW standards in conventional broiler production. The magnitude of these estimates, however, shows that consumer WTP is below the actual price premium demanded by producers for existing animal-friendly programs for broiler production. This explains why the market for certified FAW broilers fails and calls for a policy change towards higher minimum standards of broiler welfare. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, Erkenntnisse über die Präferenzen der deutschen Verbraucher für das Wohlergehen von Nutztieren (farm animal welfare FAW) zu gewinnen. Erforscht wurde die Zahlungsbereitschaft für Hähnchenfleisch, welches FAW zertifiziert produziert wird. Außerdem wurden logistische und lineare Regressionsmodelle geschätzt, um die Faktoren zu bestimmen, welche die Verbraucher bei ihrer Kaufentscheidung für FAW zertifizierte Produkte beeinflussen. Die Daten wurden durch eine Umfrage bei 300 deutschen Hähnchenfleischverbrauchern ermittelt, wobei die kontingente Bewertungsmethode verwendet wurde. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß 82 % der Befragten bereit waren, FAW zertifizierte Produkte zu kaufen. Von diesen war die überwiegende Mehrheit (95 %) bereit, einen zusätzlichen Betrag von ca. 1,50 € pro kg für FAW zertifizierte Hähnchenfilets zu zahlen. Dies stellt einen Preisanstieg von ca. 27 % dar im Vergleich zu dem aktuellen Preis für konventionell produzierte Hähnchenfilets. Die zusätzliche Zahlungsbereitschaft der Verbraucher liegt jedoch unterhalb der aktuellen Preisprämie, die die Hersteller bestehender FAW-Programme in der Hähnchenproduktion verlangen. Dies erklärt, warum der Markt für zertifiziertes FAW-Geflügelfleisch nicht erfolgreich ist.farm animal welfare (FAW), broiler, contingent valuation method (CVM), willingness-to-pay (WTP), Agribusiness,

Valuation of Ecosystem Services Provided by Biodiversity Conservation: An Integrated Hydrological and Economic Model to Value the Enhanced Nitrogen Retention in Renaturated Streams

The importance of ecosystem functions for humankind is well known. But only few attempts have been undertaken to estimate the economic value of these ecosystem services. In particular, indirect methods are rarely used, even though they are most suitable for the task. This discrepancy is because quantitative knowledge of changes in ecosystem functions is scarce. This paper presents a user-friendly procedure to quantify the increased N-retention in a renaturated river using easily available data. In a case study of the renaturated River Jossa (Germany) the benefits of increased nitrogen retention caused by beaver reintroduction are determined by using the replacement cost method. The quantification of chemical processes is discussed in detail, as well as the problems of defining an adequate reference scenario for the substitute costs. Results show that economic benefits from the evaluated ecosystem service (€12,000/annum) equal 12% of the total costs of the corresponding conservation scheme.Biodiversity conservation programmes, Cost-benefit-analysis, Replacement cost method, Ecosystem services, Nutrient retention

Verbraucherschutz vor dem Schimmelpilzgift Deoxynivalenol in Getreideprodukten: aktuelle Situation und Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten

Dieses Diskussionspapier beschäftigt sich mit der Problematik des Mykotoxins Deoxynivalenol (DON) im Getreide und Möglichkeiten des Managements der daraus entstehenden Risiken. DON in Getreide stellt in hiesigen Breiten derzeit kein akutes Gesundheitsrisiko dar. Gleichwohl können die gesetzlichen Regelungen als unbefriedigend angesehen werden, da sie den Verbraucher nicht adäquat vor chronischen Effekten schützen. Die zulässigen Höchstgehalte (Grenzwerte) lassen DON-Gehalte zu, die zu einer Überschreitung der langfristig toxikologisch unbedenklichen Maße führen können. Derzeit liegt die Aufnahme durch die Mehrzahl der Konsumenten unter diesem Maß, da die tatsächlichen Mykotoxingehalte häufig unter den zulässigen liegen. Durch den zu erwartenden Anstieg der Mykotoxinproblematik, aufgrund des Klimawandels und starken Wettbewerbdrucks in der Landwirtschaft, ändert sich die Situation. Der Verzehr von Getreideprodukten kann dann zu nennenswerten gesundheitlichen Beeinträchtigungen führen, verbunden mit negativen Wohlfahrtseffekten. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass sich diese Probleme durch eine adäquate Verbraucheraufklärung verbessern lassen. --

Ökonomische Bewertung von Kindergesundheit in der Umweltpolitik: Aktuelle Ansätze und ihre Grenzen

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Potential of Opuntia seed oil for livelihood improvement in semi-arid Madagascar

The coastal area of the Mahafaly Plateau in southwestern Madagascar is prone to droughts, as well as to other environmental risks, resulting in frequent crop failures, famines, and extreme poverty. Thus, the identification of potential complementary livelihood sources has been identified as a crucial step for the sustainable development of the region. In this contribution, we assess the potential of prickly pear seed oil production as an income alternative for local communities. The prickly pears are cacti in the genus Opuntia Mill. and they are highly abundant in the region, particularly as living fences on farmland. From the seeds of its fruit, high-priced seed oil can be extracted. To investigate its economic potential, we inventoried prickly pears in field hedgerows through vegetation inventories and estimated the amount of seed oil that could be produced per household based on field sampling and laboratory analysis. To assess the socioeconomic impact of a potential large-scale project of regional Opuntia seed oil production, we conducted interviews with 51 farming households on human Opuntia consumption, the utilization of its cladodes as fodder, and other livelihood functions.Five different prickly pears occur in the research region. We found that two out of these five species are highly important socioeconomically (Opuntia monacantha and O. streptacantha) and contribute >50% to total food intake during periods of food shortage. Likewise, these species are consumed as a key water source and used as livestock fodder. In contrast, the other three Opuntia species are barely eaten by local residents or by livestock (O. dillenii, O. stricta and O. phaeacantha). These species are more spiny, and their fruits are virtually inedible due to a much higher seed content. The combination of low nutritional value and high seed content suggests promising seed oil production potential for these types of Opuntia. To avoid competition between human nutrition and the commercialization of local Opuntia seeds, sourcing strategies should exclusively target the fruit of the two high seed  species. However, investments for oil mills, skilled staff, and adequate logistics would be needed to create local value from this underrated resource in the Mahafaly region

Ermittlung der Nachfrage nach ökologischen Gütern der Landwirtschaft – Das Northeim-Projekt

This paper presents a case study on the development and implementation of a decentralised and outcome-based agri-environmental payment scheme in a project region in central Germany. A research group from Goettingen University together with local actors designed the scheme which complies with the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. The core of the programme is the creation of a market for ecological goods, in this case: of plant diversity standards in agriculture. Supply is provided by the local farmers, who, in an open competitive bidding, offer to produce as much as they are willing to of the commodity in question. The local population has to be seen as the beneficiary of these environmental goods. In the project, it is represented by a Regional Advisory Board which expresses the demand for plant diversity (i) by defining the goods and (ii) by allocating the funds to the respective goods. Hence, these plant diversity goods are treated as merit goods. To justify this approach, results from a contingent valuation study that focused on the respondents’ decision behaviour are applied. These results show that the utility expected from the provision of these goods is substantial and that ecological goods are considered as personally relevant. Based on these findings, the paper discusses the provision of ecological goods as merit – as opposed to private – goods.environmental services, decentralisation, contingent valuation, merit goods, Environmental Economics and Policy,