CONSUMERS’ PREFERENCE AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR LOCALLY PRODUCED RICE IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine consumers’ preference and willingness to pay for locally produced rice in Ekiti State, Nigeria. To achieve this, primary data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 150 respondents for the study. The data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis and econometric analysis. The specific methodological approach employed was Choice Experiment (CE) Technique which is used to evaluate non-market goods by eliciting people’s stated preference for different options in a hypothetical setting. The study also involved consumer’s Willingness to Pay (WTP), which is defined as the maximum value of money that an individual contributed to equalize utility. The results of the analysis statistics revealed that the average age of the respondents was 47.82 years with a minimum of 20 years and maximum of 90 years. Majority (26.0%) of the respondents was within the actively working age group, married (73.3%) and was females (51.3%). The results of the descriptive statistics showed that most of the respondents earned more than N70, 000 per month with an average income of N58, 813 monthly. The quantity of rice consumed most in the study area ranged between 21 and 30kg per month with a mean of 29.21kg. Under the Multinomial (Conditional) Logit Model without interaction, taste, safety and price were the attributes considered by consumers when demanding for rice. The interactions between price and income also affected consumer’s demand for rice. From the results, it was deduced that consumers are willing to pay a premium price of ₦ 327 for taste and a premium price of ₦ 285 for food safety. The study concluded that higher income and more household members resulted in greater expenditure on rice for an individual consumer. The result of the analysis also shows very useful information regarding consumer demand that can uniquely assist Nigeria policy makers, particularly the government and farmers, in developing new domestic rice production and marketing strategies.