Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria

Many developing countries face challenges in managing food safety risks associated with consumption of animal-source foods. Efforts to address these challenges increasingly recognize the role of certification in agri-food systems governance. Understanding consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for food...

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Main Authors: Tran, Nhuong, Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia, Hoffmann, Vivian, Lagerkvist, Carl Johan, Pincus, Lauren, Akintola, Shehu Latunji, Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun, Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi, Bailey, Conner
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141089
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author Tran, Nhuong
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Hoffmann, Vivian
Lagerkvist, Carl Johan
Pincus, Lauren
Akintola, Shehu Latunji
Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun
Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi
Bailey, Conner
author_browse Akintola, Shehu Latunji
Bailey, Conner
Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun
Hoffmann, Vivian
Lagerkvist, Carl Johan
Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi
Pincus, Lauren
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Tran, Nhuong
author_facet Tran, Nhuong
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Hoffmann, Vivian
Lagerkvist, Carl Johan
Pincus, Lauren
Akintola, Shehu Latunji
Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun
Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi
Bailey, Conner
author_sort Tran, Nhuong
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Many developing countries face challenges in managing food safety risks associated with consumption of animal-source foods. Efforts to address these challenges increasingly recognize the role of certification in agri-food systems governance. Understanding consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for food safety certification is fundamental to determining the appropriate design and implementation of programs to reduce the burden of foodborne illnesses in developing countries. To address this need, we implemented a framed field experiment with consumers of eight farm-raised African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) products varying in certification status (safety certified versus uncertified) and product forms (live versus smoked) to examine their WTP for food safety certification in Nigeria. We applied a mixed-effects model to account for the hierarchical structure of the data with one participant entering multiple bids, and estimated a model with participant fixed effects as a robustness check. We found that consumers were willing to pay between 3.1% and 18.8% more for fish certified as safe compared to uncertified fish. Furthermore, there was an asymmetry in food safety certification valuation, with consumers paying significant premiums for high-value larger-sized certified live and smoked catfish, but not smaller-sized certified live and smoked catfish. The results are robust to a specification in which consumer fixed effects are included. Our findings suggest there exists consumer demand for certification programs to upgrade the food safety standards of higher-value fish products in Nigeria's domestic markets. Lower-value fish products typically consumed by lower-income consumers show less potential for certification. Alternative safety regulation is needed to ensure safety practices for low-end fish products.
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spelling CGSpace1410892025-10-26T13:01:54Z Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria Tran, Nhuong Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia Hoffmann, Vivian Lagerkvist, Carl Johan Pincus, Lauren Akintola, Shehu Latunji Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi Bailey, Conner willingness to pay certification food safety aquaculture aquatic food systems food systems governance Many developing countries face challenges in managing food safety risks associated with consumption of animal-source foods. Efforts to address these challenges increasingly recognize the role of certification in agri-food systems governance. Understanding consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for food safety certification is fundamental to determining the appropriate design and implementation of programs to reduce the burden of foodborne illnesses in developing countries. To address this need, we implemented a framed field experiment with consumers of eight farm-raised African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) products varying in certification status (safety certified versus uncertified) and product forms (live versus smoked) to examine their WTP for food safety certification in Nigeria. We applied a mixed-effects model to account for the hierarchical structure of the data with one participant entering multiple bids, and estimated a model with participant fixed effects as a robustness check. We found that consumers were willing to pay between 3.1% and 18.8% more for fish certified as safe compared to uncertified fish. Furthermore, there was an asymmetry in food safety certification valuation, with consumers paying significant premiums for high-value larger-sized certified live and smoked catfish, but not smaller-sized certified live and smoked catfish. The results are robust to a specification in which consumer fixed effects are included. Our findings suggest there exists consumer demand for certification programs to upgrade the food safety standards of higher-value fish products in Nigeria's domestic markets. Lower-value fish products typically consumed by lower-income consumers show less potential for certification. Alternative safety regulation is needed to ensure safety practices for low-end fish products. 2022-03 2024-04-12T13:37:16Z 2024-04-12T13:37:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141089 en Open Access Elsevier Tran, Nhuong; Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia; Hoffmann, Vivian; Lagerkvist, Carl Johan; Pincus, Lauren; Akintola, Shehu Latunji; Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun; Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi; and Bailey, Conner. 2022. Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria. Aquaculture 550(March 2022): 737829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737829
spellingShingle willingness to pay
certification
food safety
aquaculture
aquatic food systems
food systems
governance
Tran, Nhuong
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Hoffmann, Vivian
Lagerkvist, Carl Johan
Pincus, Lauren
Akintola, Shehu Latunji
Fakoya, Kafayat Adetoun
Olagunju, Olanrewaju Femi
Bailey, Conner
Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title_full Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title_fullStr Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title_short Are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification? Evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria
title_sort are consumers in developing countries willing to pay for aquaculture food safety certification evidence from a field experiment in nigeria
topic willingness to pay
certification
food safety
aquaculture
aquatic food systems
food systems
governance
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141089
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