Willingness to Pay for Organic Vegetable in Ado-Ekiti Metropolis, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess willingness to pay for organic vegetables in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 60 respondents that were purposively selected from 3 organizations within the State i.e. Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti and Ekiti State Government Secretariat, Ado-Ekiti. Descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model were used to analyze the collected data. Result of data analysis showed that 95% of the respondents had prior knowledge of organic vegetables. Also, 93.3% of the respondents agreed that organic vegetable was healthier than the conventional ones. The result also showed that out of the six organic vegetables the respondents were willing to pay for, cucumber recorded the highest premium (₦49.33). The result from the tobit regression model showed that household size, educational level and monthly income were statistically significant at 5%, 1% and 1% respectively, implying that they were the variables influencing willingness to pay for organic vegetables in the study area. Independent variables with positive signs i.e. household size and awareness implied that the higher these variables, the more the willingness to pay for organic vegetables. It is therefore recommended that the three tiers of government, including the private sector, should mount serious awareness campaigns to sensitize Nigerian populace on numerous benefits of organic farming especially on health, finance and environment.