AWARENESS AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ORGANIC VEGETABLES AMONG FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

The aim of the study was to analyze awareness and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic vegetables among households in Anambra State, Nigeria. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages, and Contingent Valuation Method. One hundred and forty (140) respondents were utilized for the study but with a valid response rate of 85.7 percent to give one hundred and twenty (120) respondents sampled from the study area using multistage sampling procedure. Data used for the research was obtained with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. The most commonly consumed vegetables were pumpkin (59.17%), garden egg (28.33%), cucumber (8.33%) and amaranth (4.17%). The respondents were aware (95.83%) of the health benefits of organic vegetables and also aware (71.7%) of environmental effects of using inorganic fertilizer for vegetable production. In the WTP for organic vegetables, it was observed that 21.7% of the respondents were not WTP for organic garden egg, while 78.3% of the respondents were WTP a premium for a kg of organic garden egg. About 8.3% of the respondents were not WTP for organic pumpkin while 91.7% of them were WTP a premium for organic pumpkin. The analysis showed that in households WTP for organic garden egg, factors such as age, health, education, and awareness were significant, while WTP an amount was also significantly influenced by the same set of variables. Also, while willingness to pay for organic pumpkin was significantly influenced by health, education and awareness, WTP an amount was significantly influenced by health, education and awareness. There is need for public awareness by the media and organic Non-Government Organizations to create more programmes that will educate consumers on the health and environmental advantages of organic farming and consumption patterns over conventional practices. With this, more consumers will be willing to pay a premium for organic vegetables.