Browsing by Author "Shayo, Haikalaura Nicholas"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Assessment of consumer's willingness to pay for rice attributesin Morogoro Municipality
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014) Shayo, Haikalaura Nicholas
The exact attributes which consumers are looking for and willingness to pay (WTP) in both cooked and uncooked rice and the value comparison between imported and local rice is unknown. For this reason this study was conducted with the goal of assessing consumer's WTP for rice attributes in Tanzania. The specific objectives of the study were to analyze consumer willingness to pay fbr different rice attributes of raw rice and cooked rice and to compare the preference of imported rice versus local rice in terms of sensory characteristics. The research was based on a survey of rice consumers in Morogoro municipal. Sensory test together with a consumer survey of 100 randomly selected respondents were conducted from February to March 2013, using a structured questionnaire. Double bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation methodology (CVM) was employed to elicit consumers WTP information. From the analysis rice attributes such as appearance of uncooked rice, aroma, taste of cooking, price and location affect the choices of rice brands available in the market. The results also indicate marital status, income level, occupational status, gender of head and household number to have significant influence on consumer's WTP decisions. The majority of the consumers however prefer to purchase local aromatic rice instead of the imported brands from Asia. Consumers were loyal to local rice specifically rice from Mbeya, and source of origin of rice is the major criteria in selecting what type of rice to purchase. The results pointed to the needs of producing high quality local rice and to sort, pack and label the product according to source of origin of rice and usage. Generally the pricing and marketing strategies of rice should be improved following the basis provided in this study.