Consumer acceptability and willingness to pay for selected processed orange fleshed sweet potato products in Morogoro municipality

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS OF SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE. MOROGORO, TANZANIA.

Sweet potato with a negligible amount of vitamin A has been consumed for a long time in Sub-Saharan African (SSA)countries including Tanzania. The production and consumption of improved sweet potato varieties including orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) with high Vitamin A content has been promoted due to its potential to combat Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD). Adding value to OFSP will increase both its shelf-life and market demand. This study was conducted toassess consumer acceptability and willingness to pay (WTP) for selected processed OFSP products.Specifically, the research rated the attributes of the selected processed OFSP products for consumer acceptability, estimated the value consumers are willing to pay for selected processed OFSP products in the study area and determined factors influencing WTP for selected processed OFSP products.The study used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the populations’ WTP for the selected processed OFSP products. The survey was administered to 120 respondents who were characterized by having the behavior of purchasing packaged flour, breads and biscuits for their family consumption. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed usingdescriptive statistics,Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Logistics Regression. Results from the study show thatOFSPbread (30%) and OFSPbread (20%) were accepted in association with colour, taste and aroma attributes while acceptance of OFSP biscuits was associated with texture attribute.Results further show mean WTP of TZS4106.26per kg for OFSP flour, TZS1568.67per one-quarter kg for OFSPbread (30%), TZS1592 per one-quarter kg for OFSPbread(20%) and TZS973.84per one-tenth kg for OFSP biscuits. Results from Logistic Regression analysis established that bid/price, education level, income, nutrients and packaging as the factors influencing significantly consumers’WTP for the OFSP products understudy at P<0.05 level .In addition household size was found to influenceWTP for OFSP flour and OFSP bread (30%) while age was found to influence WTP for OFSP biscuits at P<0.05 level of significance.Moreover, sex was found to influence WTP for OFSP flour at the same level of significance. In conclusion, the study indicates thatcolour, aroma,taste and texture are important attributes in acceptability of OFSPproducts. Consumers are willing to pay for OFSP products at the available market price with exception of OFSP biscuits. Thus, the general recommendation in this study is for all stakeholders to get involved in promoting the OFSP products to be consumed significantly as it will reduce the existing morbidity and mortality among children and pregnant women as well as the leading cause of preventable blindness caused by effect of VAD.

The Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)