Consumer preferences for organic vegetables in southwestern Nigeria: A choice experiment approach

In sub-Saharan Africa, identifying estimates of consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for safe food continues to receive attention in the literature. Using experimental data from Nigeria, we examined the source of heterogeneities in preference and WTP for organically produced food. The subjective valuation by consumers of certification in relation to third-party certification and the participatory guarantee system (PGS) was also investigated. A sample of 196 households subjected to a discrete choice experiment yielded 1 764 observations that were analysed using the generalised multinomial logit and mixed logit models. The results reveal a strong preference for food safety in terms of reducing chemical residue, which dominated the respondents’ preference and WTP patterns. Concerning certification attributes, consumers were positively disposed to third-party certification, but showed no significant preference for the PGS form of certification. Significant heterogeneities in preference were due mainly to age and awareness of organic products. We suggest that policies should focus on consumers’ understanding of organic food, third-party certification, and organic agriculture

Determinants of Health Management Practices’ Utilization and Its Effect on Poultry Farmers’ Income in Ondo State, Nigeria

Nigeria is the second largest poultry industry in Africa, with its poultry industry the most commercialized livestock sub-sector. Despite its significance, the farmers still experience economic losses due to disease outbreaks. Hence, the application of standard Health Management Practices (HMPs) is very important, as these practices improve the welfare of animals and increase animal production and farmers’ income. This paper examined the determinants of HMP’s utilization and its effect on poultry farmers’ income in Ondo State, Nigeria. We used multistage sampling procedures to select 120 respondents who provided data for the study. The study used Generalized Poisson Regression (GPR) and Conditional Quantile Regression (CQR) models to estimate the determinants of HMP’s utilization intensity, and its heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income, respectively. The results revealed that the HMP’s utilization intensity was significantly driven by variables such as education, training, experience, land ownership, stock size, mortality rate, and production system. In addition, HMP’s utilization had significant heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income. Therefore, the government and other developmental agencies should promote HMP’s utilization through the provision of poultry-based skills acquisition and vocational education