Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets

Without enforced standards or reliable third‐party verification, food safety threats such as pesticide residues and aflatoxin contamination are generally unobservable or only partially observable to both buyers and sellers, especially of staple foods in rural maize markets in sub‐Saharan Africa. As...

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Autores principales: Kadjo, D., Ricker-Gilbert, J., Shively, G.E., Abdoulaye, Tahirou
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103750
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author Kadjo, D.
Ricker-Gilbert, J.
Shively, G.E.
Abdoulaye, Tahirou
author_browse Abdoulaye, Tahirou
Kadjo, D.
Ricker-Gilbert, J.
Shively, G.E.
author_facet Kadjo, D.
Ricker-Gilbert, J.
Shively, G.E.
Abdoulaye, Tahirou
author_sort Kadjo, D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Without enforced standards or reliable third‐party verification, food safety threats such as pesticide residues and aflatoxin contamination are generally unobservable or only partially observable to both buyers and sellers, especially of staple foods in rural maize markets in sub‐Saharan Africa. As a result, sellers have more information about food quality than do buyers. Such information asymmetries can impede market development and undermine human health. We study farm household behaviour in the context of imperfect food safety information. We pool observations obtained from 707 food storage containers maintained by 309 farm households in Benin, surveyed following the maize harvests of 2011/2012 and 2013/2014. Our results indicate that when a household perceives a food safety risk associated with application of insecticides, on average it is 33 percentage points less likely to apply insecticides to maize it intends to consume than it is to maize it intends to sell. These individuals are also more likely to sell maize than households without food safety concerns. Results highlight the potential value of improved storage technologies and quality control to promote market transactions and reduce hidden health risks.
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spelling CGSpace1037502025-11-11T10:13:46Z Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets Kadjo, D. Ricker-Gilbert, J. Shively, G.E. Abdoulaye, Tahirou side effects selection safety information food security benin food safety maize aflatoxins markets Without enforced standards or reliable third‐party verification, food safety threats such as pesticide residues and aflatoxin contamination are generally unobservable or only partially observable to both buyers and sellers, especially of staple foods in rural maize markets in sub‐Saharan Africa. As a result, sellers have more information about food quality than do buyers. Such information asymmetries can impede market development and undermine human health. We study farm household behaviour in the context of imperfect food safety information. We pool observations obtained from 707 food storage containers maintained by 309 farm households in Benin, surveyed following the maize harvests of 2011/2012 and 2013/2014. Our results indicate that when a household perceives a food safety risk associated with application of insecticides, on average it is 33 percentage points less likely to apply insecticides to maize it intends to consume than it is to maize it intends to sell. These individuals are also more likely to sell maize than households without food safety concerns. Results highlight the potential value of improved storage technologies and quality control to promote market transactions and reduce hidden health risks. 2020-06 2019-09-26T08:46:27Z 2019-09-26T08:46:27Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103750 en Open Access application/pdf Wiley Kadjo, D., Ricker‐Gilbert, J., Shively, G. & Abdoulaye, T. (2019). Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1-27.
spellingShingle side effects
selection
safety
information
food security
benin
food safety
maize
aflatoxins
markets
Kadjo, D.
Ricker-Gilbert, J.
Shively, G.E.
Abdoulaye, Tahirou
Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title_full Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title_fullStr Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title_full_unstemmed Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title_short Food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
title_sort food safety and adverse selection in rural maize markets
topic side effects
selection
safety
information
food security
benin
food safety
maize
aflatoxins
markets
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103750
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AT abdoulayetahirou foodsafetyandadverseselectioninruralmaizemarkets