Farmers’ willingness to pay for improved cassava cuttings attributes in Rugombo district, Burundi
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Date
2022
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Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Despite cassava being both a staple food, a major source of calories, and the third most important
crop after beans and bananas in Burundi, its seeds system is characterized by informal sectors and the
unavailability of clean and healthy planting materials. These challenges, together with the traditional
poor farming practices have attributed to low cassava productivity. Therefore, the study aimed at
assessing farmers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved cassava cuttings attributes in Burundi,
specifically the study assessed: i) farmers’ preferences for improved cassava cuttings attribute; ii)
WTP for attributes of improved cassava cuttings and; iii) factors influencing farmers’ preferences and
WTP for improved cassava cuttings attributes. Primary data were collected in Rugombo district,
Cibitoke Province in Burundi where cassava is intensively grown. The study area is also among the
regions most affected by Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSV).
A systematic sampling approach was used to select 352 respondents for this study from the list of
cassava farmers. The Focus Group Discussion (FGD), semi-structured questionnaire, and Best-Worst
Scaling (BWS) questions were used to get cassava cutting attributes prioritized by farmers in the
study area. The mixed logit model was used to assess preferences, WTP, factors influencing farmers’
preferences and WTP for improved cassava cuttings attributes. Results from FGD, semi-structured
questionnaire, and BWS method show that farmers prioritized most resistance to diseases when
compared to other cassava cuttings attributes which include roots yield, taste, maturity time and input
price. Results from CE indicate that respondents have strong preferences for higher yield and they
were willing to pay more for that attribute (BIF 70) compared to other attributes like resistance to
diseases (BIF 36), sweet taste (BIF 35), and early maturity times (BIF 18). Further, the study found
that preferences and WTP for improved cassava cuttings attributes are influenced by education level,
land ownership status (both owned and rented land), increase in the size of cassava land, high
experience in producing cassava, project beneficiaries, and distance to the market. The studyiii
recommends to the Ministry of Agriculture and other development partners involved in cassava
cuttings multiplication to avail and consider the preferred attributes in their interventions and actions.
Keywords: Improved Cassava Cuttings Attributes, Willingness to Pay, Best-Worst Scaling, Choice
Experiment, Burundi.
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Dissertation
Keywords
Improved Cassava Cuttings Attributes, Willingness-Pay, Best-Worst Scaling, Choice Experiment, Rugombo District, Burundi