Willingness to pay for Moringa oleifera leaf powder fortified bread among consumers in Kwara State, Nigeria
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of International Moringa and Nutraceutical Research
Abstract
This study was carried out to examine consumer's willingness to pay for bread fortification with M. Oleifera leaf powder in Kwara State, Nigeria. Primary data and secondary information were used for the study. Survey instrument used was structured questionaire, administered to 240 respondents randomly selected in a four-stage sampling procedure. Analytical tools employed includes descriptive statistics, contingent validation method and regression technique. The study revealed that bread related purchases are predominated by males who account for up to about 63% of purchases. Almost half of the respondents were willing to pay 20% premium over the amount they would pay for a plain loaf of bread while 28.3% of the respondents were willing to pay up to 60% premium above the cost of a plain bread loaf. At 5% level, factors that significantly and positively determine consumers' willingness to pay for M. Oleifera leaf powder fortification in their bread were: educational status, monthly income, awareness of the nutritional benefits of M. Oleifera, consumers' perception of M. leaves, and ongoing management of health challenge while the amount spent by consumer on pharmaceutical dietary supplement was negatively significant. The study recommends that bread manufacturer should take advantage of the consumers' willingness to pay for M. Oleifera fortification to their bread and hence make the product available. Given that an impressive percentage of respondents were willing to pay for M. Oleifera fortification to their bread, it could prove to be a means to tackling the issue of micronutrient deficiency heads-on since bread is a widely acceptable staple in the country. There is the need to create even more awareness on the healh and nutirtional benefits of the Moringa plant as there are vast opportunities along the food processing value chains which will impact positively on the economy considering that individuals are willing to pick up supplement-fortified food products in Nigeria.
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Keywords
Bread, Contingent Validation Method, Micronutrient deficiency, Moringa Oleifera, Willingness-to-pay, food fortification