Consumers’ willingness to pay for organic beans in southwest Nigeria: towards food safety

Abstract

Minimizing the health dangers associated with consuming inorganic staple food crops due to residues from pesticide and herbicide usage is a reasonable pathway to ensure nutrition security. Therefore, an extensive knowledge of consumers’ interest in organic foods would be a useful complementary strategy to public health interventions. This study examines consumers’ willingness to pay for organic beans in southwest Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 180 shoppers of beans. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model. Consumers were willing to pay for organic beans if the premium was not more than ₦601.76 (USD 1.58) for 2 kg of organic beans. The significant factors influencing the consumers’ willingness to pay for organic beans were gender, access to food safety information, acquaintance with organic products, monthly income, and nutritional knowledge of the food planner. Meanwhile, taste/palatability, freshness, appearance, safety, nutritional value, hygiene, and environmental friendliness were highly ranked when buying beans compared to price and convenience. Therefore, any welfare programme involving the introduction of organic beans in Nigeria should ensure that the premium should not be greater than ₦601.76. Also, policies aimed at improving food safety, and nutritional knowledge should be put in place by the government.