Cotton farmers’ willingness to pay for pest management services in northern Benin

This study was carried out to assess cotton farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for pest management services in northern Benin. Targeted staggered control (TSC) has been introduced to reduce pesticide use in cotton cropping and generate an estimated benefit of FCFA48,800 (€74.40) per cotton hectare accruing from increased productivity and reduced pesticide cost. However, TSC application requires extra time for pest identification and scouting, and its adoption remains low due to the lack of funding to boost farmers’ awareness and cover training costs. An interval regression model was used to analyze responses to a double‐bounded contingent valuation survey with data collected from 300 cotton farmers. The results showed that 87.3% of cotton farmers were willing to pay for TSC services. Annual WTP per cotton hectare was estimated at FCFA16,962 (€25.80), revealing an existing demand for TSC adoption. Respondents' WTP was driven by farm and socio‐economic characteristics. Financial mechanisms managed by farmers could thus potentially foster technology adoption, and in turn, generate economic and environmental benefits.     

Measuring rural consumers’ willingness to pay for quality labels using experimental auctions: the case of aflatoxin‐free maize in Kenya

Aflatoxins are a common health hazard in tropical countries, especially in rural areas. New methods to reduce aflatoxin levels in food staples, as well as cheaper test methods, are being developed, but consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for these improvements is unknown. A survey was conducted with a representative sample of rural consumers (1,344 in total, 63% women) in all major maize‐production zones of Kenya. The survey included an experimental auction with maize products of different qualities. The results showed that many rural consumers were aware of aflatoxins, but few understood their health risks. Respondents were willing to pay a premium for maize tested for aflatoxins and labeled, but asked a high discount for maize that was visibly contaminated with moldy grain. The premium was higher for respondents with education and in regions with aflatoxicosis outbreaks. Knowledge of aflatoxins substantially reduced the overall WTP, but did not increase the WTP for tested maize. Welfare analysis indicates that mandatory testing would result in substantial benefits if the cost of testing can be lowered to below the premium.     

The role of certificate issuer on consumers’ willingness‐to‐pay for milk traceability in China

In response to increasing concerns about domestic food safety issues, establishing tracking systems in the food industry is mandatorily required under newly launched food safety laws. However, the kinds of monitoring and certification systems that should be set up to ensure practical adoption and the effectiveness of the regulation remain unclear. This study aims to analyze consumers’ preferences for milk traceability, with particular interest in investigating how consumers’ preferences could be affected by monitoring and certification systems of the regarding system. Survey data from a choice‐based conjoint (CBC) experiment are used to achieve this objective. In the experiment, milk is defined by a set of attributes in which we assume that milk traceability can be certified by three entities: the government, an industrial association, and a third party. The CBC data are then analyzed by using the alternative‐specific form of a conditional Logit (McFadden's Choice) model. We found that urban Chinese consumers have a strong desire for traceable milk, but their preference for traceable milk is significantly related to the associated certificate issuers. Currently, the highest willingness‐to‐pay goes to government certificated traceable milk, followed by industrial association certificated and third‐party certificated milks. In the future, however, consumers are likely to give more credit to third‐party certification with rising income and knowledge.     

Buyers’ perceptions of importance and willingness‐to‐pay for certain attributes of source and production verified bred heifers

This research reports buyers’ perceptions of and willingness‐to‐pay for replacement heifers produced through a rigorous, third‐party verified production protocol. Survey respondents attended and registered to purchase heifers at sanctioned Missouri Show‐Me‐Select Replacement Heifer Program^® sales between 1997 and 2002. Responses indicate that pen uniformity, artificially inseminated to calving ease bull, synchronized calving, and heifer size are perceived as important, and their willingness‐to‐pay for these characteristics is economically significant. Though prior research suggests willingness‐to‐pay estimates particularly for inexperienced consumers may be biased, we find little difference between inexperienced and experienced buyers and also little difference from hedonic estimates of heifer characteristics’ value.     

基于社会资本理论的农民灌溉水价支付意愿影响因素分析模型

从社会资本角度定量研究农民灌溉水价支付意愿影响因素,采用信任指数和互助指数对社会资本进行量化,结合开放式和二分式问卷格式,改进了获得农民灌溉水价支付意愿相关数据的引导技术,并采用多元线性回归方法建立了农民灌溉水价支付意愿影响因素定量分析模型。以皂河灌区为研究区域,通过问卷调查收集基础数据,采用提出的模型分析了各因素对农民灌溉水价支付意愿的影响情况。结果表明:社会资本是影响农民灌溉水价支付意愿的重要因素之一;农户主要劳动力人数、耕地面积、供水及时性、管水者工作能力等因素对农民灌溉水价支付意愿也具有显著影响。灌溉水价的改革,应重视农民社会资本并提高灌区供水服务水平等。     

A meta-analysis of the willingness to pay for reductions in pesticide risk exposure

We review the empirical valuation literature on pesticide riskexposure and develop a taxonomy of environmental and human healthrisks associated with pesticide usage. Meta-analysis is thenused to investigate the variation in willingness to pay (WTP)estimates for reduced pesticide risk exposure. Our findingsshow that the WTP for reduced risk exposure is 15 per cent greaterfor medium, and 80 per cent greater for high risk levels, ascompared with low risk levels. The income elasticity of reducedpesticide risk exposure is generally not significantly differentfrom zero. Stated preference approaches based on choice experimentsand revealed preference provide lower WTP estimates than contingentvaluation techniques. Survey design, type of safety device (eco-labelling,integrated pest management, or bans) and chosen payment vehicleare important drivers of the valuation results.     

Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for a Tuberculosis Cattle Vaccine

We use contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE) methods to assess cattle farmers’ attitudes to and willingness to pay (WTP) for a bovine tuberculosis (bTB) cattle vaccine, to help inform vaccine development and policy. A survey questionnaire was administered by means of telephone interviews to a stratified sample of 300 cattle farmers in annually bTB‐tested areas in England and Wales. Farmers felt that bTB was a major risk for the cattle industry and that there was a high risk of their cattle getting the disease. The CE estimate produced a mean WTP of £35 per animal per single dose for a vaccine that is 90% effective at reducing the risk of a bTB breakdown and an estimated £55 for such a vaccine backed by 100% insurance of loss if a breakdown should occur. The CV estimate produced a mean WTP of nearly £17 per dose/per animal/per year for a vaccine (including 100% insurance) which, given the average lifespan of cattle, is comparable to the CE estimate. These WTP estimates are substantially higher than the expected cost of a vaccine which suggests that farmers in high risk bTB ‘hotspot’ areas perceive a substantial net benefit from buying the vaccine.     

Willingness to pay for brands: a cross‐region,cross‐category analysis

Using survey data collected in multiple locations (California and Texas in the United States and Revohot in Israel), we quantify category‐ and location‐specific variations of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for brand products after controlling for consumer characteristics. We find that consumers have a similar qualitative assessment of brand value in different product categories across different locations. That is, consumers have a stronger preference and higher WTP for brands in consumer electronics, followed by clothing and then processed food, and the lowest in fresh produce. Furthermore, we simulate price premiums and market shares of brands relative to generic products in different categories. Simulation results suggest that brands in fresh produce have the highest price premium but lowest market share. Despite the similarities, the magnitude of WTP for brands as well as the simulated price premium and the corresponding market share in the same product category are location variant. The similarities and dissimilarities suggest validity of having global brand strategies adapted to local conditions, that is, the so‐called “thinking globally and acting locally” strategy.     

Adoption of weather‐index insurance: learning from willingness to pay among a panel of households in rural Ethiopia

In this article we examine which farmers would be early entrants into weather‐index insurance markets in Ethiopia, were such markets to develop on a large scale. We do this by examining the determinants of willingness to pay for weather insurance among 1,400 Ethiopian households that have been tracked for 15 years as part of the Ethiopian Rural household Survey. This provides both historical and current information with which to assess the determinants of demand. We find that educated, wealthier individuals are more likely to purchase insurance. Risk aversion is associated with low insurance take‐up suggesting that models of technology adoption can inform the purchase and spread of weather index insurance. We also assess how willingness to pay varied as two key characteristics of the contract were varied and found that basis risk reduces demand for insurance particularly when the price of the contract is high, and that provision of insurance through groups is preferred by female headed households and individuals with lower levels of education.     

Production technology option value: the case of rbST in Michigan

Agricultural producers are increasingly required to adjust production practices to satisfy retailer, and ultimately consumer, preferences. This article highlights the option value that underlies decisions related to production technologies using the case of Michigan dairy farmers and recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Welfare impacts were calculated for dairy producers when milk production systems which allowed the use of rbST were eliminated from the producer choice set. Those dairy producers using rbST just before its elimination realized a higher welfare loss than those not using the technology. However, significant welfare impacts were found for all dairy producers indicating that all producers valued the option to use this production technology.     

The impact of deal‐proneness on WTP estimates in incentive‐aligned value elicitation methods

Even after controlling for hypothetical biases, some incentive‐aligned value elicitation methods still produce different willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) estimates. In this study, we compare WTP estimates from three incentive‐aligned value elicitation methods: real choice experiment (RCE), real double‐bounded dichotomous contingent valuation (RCVM), and Becker–DeGroot–Marschak auction (BDM). We find that participants’ aggressiveness in obtaining low prices (i.e., “deal‐proneness”) influences WTP estimates in the BDM auction, but not those elicited from the RCE and RCVM. The participants with higher levels of deal‐proneness tend to submit lower bids in the BDM auction. The discrepancies in WTP estimates between different incentive‐aligned procedures are narrower for participants with lower levels of deal‐proneness. Our results indicate that the bids in BDM auctions may be understated and the auction mechanism may induce the “gambling behavior” of people who are deal‐prone. That is, whether the BDM auction is truly incentive‐aligned is again called into question. We also discuss the practical implications for food retailers.     

Estimating consumer willingness to pay for food quality with experimental auctions: the case of yellow versus fortified maize meal in Kenya

Biofortification of maize with provitamin A carotenoids is a new approach to the alleviation of vitamin A deficiencies in Africa. Unfortunately these varieties are yellow or orange, while consumers generally prefer white. Consumer willingness to pay for yellow and fortified maize was compared in experimental auctions in three regions in Kenya. The premium that consumers are willing pay for fortified maize (24%) was higher than the discount they require to buy yellow maize (11%), and in one zone consumers prefer yellow. Yellow color is, therefore, not an impossible obstacle for biofortified maize, although it would clearly be easier to introduce this maize first in regions where yellow maize is currently grown.     

Using an economic experiment to estimate willingness‐to‐pay for a new maternal nutrient supplement in Ghana

Scaling up access to supplements designed to prevent undernutrition, such as new small‐quantity lipid‐based nutrient supplements (SQ‐LNS), may require distribution via both public channels and retail markets. The viability of SQ‐LNS retail markets will hinge on household‐level demand. We use an economic experiment to characterize initial willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for a maternal SQ‐LNS product in Ghana. WTP is positive for most participants, though below the estimated cost of production for many. WTP varies depending on income, assets, and parity status. These findings have implications for the design of public health policy and hybrid public–private delivery mechanisms.     

Consumers’ preferences for fresh broccolis: interactive effects between country of origin and organic labels

While international trade in organic products has grown significantly, understanding consumers’ preferences for imported organic foods has remained limited. This research examines the impact of country‐of‐origin labeling on US consumers’ choices of organic foods. Results show that consumer valuation of domestically produced organic broccoli was significantly higher than that of imported organic broccoli. Adding information about USDA organic certification standards/rules for imported products mildly increases consumer valuation of imported organic broccoli in some cases. These findings suggest that providing such information may have a positive impact on consumer willingness to purchase imported organic products.     

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for the Color of Salmon: A Choice Experiment with Real Economic Incentives

In most retail markets, sellers post the price and consumers choose which products to buy. We designed an experimental market with posted prices to investigate consumers' willingness to pay for the color of salmon. Salmon fillets varying in color and price were displayed in twenty choice scenarios. In each scenario, the participants chose which of two salmon fillets they wanted to buy. To induce real economic incentives, each participant drew one binding scenario; the participants then had to buy the salmon fillet they had chosen in their binding scenario. The choice data were analyzed with a mixed logit model.     

Using Geographically Weighted Choice Models to Account for the Spatial Heterogeneity of Preferences

In this paper, we investigate the use of geographically weighted choice models for modelling spatially clustered preferences. We argue that this is a useful way of generating highly‐detailed spatial maps of willingness to pay for environmental conservation, given the costs of collecting data. The data used in this study come from a discrete choice experiment survey of public preferences for the implementation of a new national forest management and protection programme in Poland. We combine these with high‐resolution spatial data related to local forest characteristics. Using locally estimated discrete choice models we obtain location‐specific estimates of willingness to pay (WTP). Variation in these estimates is explained by characteristics of the forests close to where respondents live. These results are compared with those obtained from a more typical, two stage procedure which uses Bayesian posterior means of the mixed logit model random parameters to calculate location‐specific estimates of WTP. We find that there are indeed strong spatial patterns to the benefits of changes to the management to national forests. People living in areas with more species‐rich forests and those living nearer bigger areas of mixed forests have significantly different WTP values than those living in other locations. This kind of information potentially enables a better distributional analysis of the gains and losses from changes to natural resource management, and better targeting of investments in forest quality.