Willingness to Pay for Hexanal Technology among Banana Farmers in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

From the perspective of food categories, fresh produce are the leading sources of food loss and waste globally. Their highly perishable nature shortens their shelf-lives leading to high postharvest losses if not properly handled. Currently, these losses are estimated at sixty-six percent based on total weight. Reduction of these losses will ensure constant supply of food along the supply chain as well as economic empowerment of the rural poor. Hexanal which is a naturally occurring compound has been developed as an intervention to prolong shelf-life of delicate tropical fruits such as bananas while also maintaining their quality. However, empirical evidence is still required on the usefulness of hexanal to farmers. It is envisaged that such evidence would inform scaling up of the technology in Kenya. This study assessed willingness to pay for hexanal and the factors influencing WTP amounts among banana farmers in Meru County, Kenya. Primary data was collected from 130 respondents who were grouped into aware and not aware of Hexanal. Results indicate that farmers who are aware of hexanal had a higher mean WTP Ksh 466.47 (US $4.66) compared to those not aware Ksh 331.86 (US $3.32). Factors such as age and income influenced the WTP amounts between subsamples. The major key policy implication of the study is the importance of stakeholders investing in the dissemination of information on hexanal among farmers to enhance uptake.