Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India

– The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most im...

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Main Authors: Birol, Ekin, Asare-Marfo, Dorene, Karandikar, Bhushana, Roy, Devesh, Diressie, Michael Tedla
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Emerald Publishing Limited 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149669
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author Birol, Ekin
Asare-Marfo, Dorene
Karandikar, Bhushana
Roy, Devesh
Diressie, Michael Tedla
author_browse Asare-Marfo, Dorene
Birol, Ekin
Diressie, Michael Tedla
Karandikar, Bhushana
Roy, Devesh
author_facet Birol, Ekin
Asare-Marfo, Dorene
Karandikar, Bhushana
Roy, Devesh
Diressie, Michael Tedla
author_sort Birol, Ekin
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description – The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops.– A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied include days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households from three purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet.– The results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition.– The main limitation of the study is that it uses a stated preference choice experiment method, which suffers from hypothetical bias. At the time of implementing this study biofortified high-iron pearl millet varieties were not yet developed, therefore the authors could not have implemented revealed preference elicitation methods with real products and payment.– The method used (stated preference choice experiment method) is commonly used to value non-market goods such as environmental goods and products that are not yet in the market. It’s application to agriculture and in developing countries is increasing. As far as the authors know this is the first choice experiment implemented to investigate farmer/consumer preferences for biofortified crops. The study presents valuable information for development and delivery of biofortified crops for reducing micronutrient deficiencies.
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spelling CGSpace1496692025-12-08T10:29:22Z Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India Birol, Ekin Asare-Marfo, Dorene Karandikar, Bhushana Roy, Devesh Diressie, Michael Tedla pearl millet biofortification iron – The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops.– A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied include days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households from three purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet.– The results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition.– The main limitation of the study is that it uses a stated preference choice experiment method, which suffers from hypothetical bias. At the time of implementing this study biofortified high-iron pearl millet varieties were not yet developed, therefore the authors could not have implemented revealed preference elicitation methods with real products and payment.– The method used (stated preference choice experiment method) is commonly used to value non-market goods such as environmental goods and products that are not yet in the market. It’s application to agriculture and in developing countries is increasing. As far as the authors know this is the first choice experiment implemented to investigate farmer/consumer preferences for biofortified crops. The study presents valuable information for development and delivery of biofortified crops for reducing micronutrient deficiencies. 2015-04-10 2024-08-01T02:49:43Z 2024-08-01T02:49:43Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149669 en Limited Access Emerald Publishing Limited Birol, Ekin; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Karandikar, Bhushana; Roy, Devesh; and Diressie, Michael Tedla. 2015. Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/jadee-02-2014-0008
spellingShingle pearl millet
biofortification
iron
Birol, Ekin
Asare-Marfo, Dorene
Karandikar, Bhushana
Roy, Devesh
Diressie, Michael Tedla
Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title_full Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title_fullStr Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title_full_unstemmed Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title_short Investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries: high-iron pearl millet in India
title_sort investigating demand for biofortified seeds in developing countries high iron pearl millet in india
topic pearl millet
biofortification
iron
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149669
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