Combining experimental auctions with a modified home-use test to assess rural consumers’ acceptance of quality protein maize, a biofortified crop

Abstract

Biofortification, or breeding food crops for improved nutritional content, is a cost effective way to improve nutritional status. The process can, however, alter the sensory characteristics of the crop, and consumer acceptance is essential for their adoption. The oldest biofortified crop is quality protein maize (QPM), biofortified with essential amino acids, now found in many recently-released varieties in East Africa. To estimate rural consumers' acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for QPM in the dispersed population of Northern Tanzania, a novel method, combining a modified home-use test with a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak experiment, was developed. The results showed that rural consumers in Tanzania could distinguish stiff porridge made from QPM and from conventional maize (CM). They generally preferred the former, as expressed by higher scores during affective tests for texture, taste, and overall qualities. Further, rural consumers who were not provided with information about the nutritional benefits of QPM were willing to pay a premium of 16% over CM, and those who were given information, 39%.The scores on the affective test and the information on QPM's nutritional benefits were the main factors determining WTP in the experiment, while no personal characteristics of the participants were found to be significant. We conclude that QPM is, at least, as well accepted as conventional maize, and preferred for its sensory characteristics. Information on nutritional benefits increases rural consumers' willingness to pay for it, so information campaigns may be effective in increasing demand for QPM varieties. However, these varieties need to be competitive for other characteristics that rural households value, in particular, field and storage qualities.JEL classification: O13, D12, I12

Measuring consumers' interest in instant fortified pearl millet products: a field experiment in Touba, Senegal

“…The experience of this study showed how BDM, which is conducted individually, was easy to use with respondents with little or no education, and particularly suited for rural dispersed populations. It was therefore selected to estimate WTP for quality protein maize, in combination with both central locations affective tests and modified home use tests, with adults and with both mothers and children, with all experiments including an information component.…”

“…They were asked to provide a score on a five‐point hedonic scale for different sensory attributes (dislike very much, dislike, neither like nor dislike, like, like very much). The five‐point scale is much easier to use by enumerators interviewing consumers with limited or no education than the standard nine‐point scale, which is typically used by consumers filling in the response sheets themselves, and has been used in several recent consumer studies in Africa . The sensory traits used were appearance, aroma, texture in hand, flavour, texture in mouth, taste and overall appreciation (not an average, but a separate overall evaluation).The products were identified with a neutral symbol, randomly assigned (A, circle; B, square; C, triangle; D, diamond; E, rectangle) (Fig.…”

“…The five-point scale is much easier to use by enumerators interviewing consumers with limited or no education than the standard nine-point scale, which is typically used by consumers filling in the response sheets themselves, and has been used in several recent consumer studies in Africa. 13,25 The sensory traits used were appearance, aroma, texture in hand, flavour, texture in mouth, taste and overall appreciation (not an average, but a separate overall evaluation).The products were identified with a neutral symbol, randomly assigned (A, circle; B, square; C, triangle; D, diamond; E, rectangle) ( Fig. 3, second column).The tests were conducted double blind; neither the enumerator nor the participants knew the content of the different products at this stage.…”

Methods matter: a meta‐regression on the determinants of willingness‐to‐pay studies on biofortified foods

“…For example, in dispersed rural populations, BDM is sometimes preferred over other auction mechanisms, as it allows for eliciting valuations from individuals (home-use testing) and because carrying out group auctions (central-location testing) can be expensive and time-consuming. 39 Another reason is that laboratory auctions may require higher participant fees, which have shown to positively affect valuations, [40][41][42] a phenomenon known as an income endowment effect. 43 Such monetary incentives may be of particular relevance when considering students rather than adults, 44 despite the fact that both types of respondents, commonly targeted in WTP research, are not expected to bid significantly differently.…”

Design Factors Influencing Willingness‐to‐Pay Estimates in the Becker‐DeGroot‐Marschak (BDM) Mechanism and the Non‐hypothetical Choice Experiment: A Case of Biofortified Maize in Zambia

“… A process in which micronutrient contents of crops are increased through biotechnology or conventional plant breeding (De Groote et al ., ). …”