Urban Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Quality of Leafy Vegetables along the Value Chain: The Case of Nairobi Kale Consumers, Kenya

Abstract

Improvement in income in developing countries has led to emergence of middle and high income consumers. In major urban centers there has been rapid expansion of the grocery sections selling variety of leafy vegetables in leading retail stores. This study examines the willing of the urban consumers to pay for quality of leafy vegetables and the drivers of willingness to pay for the quality. It considered a broad range of quality attributes including safety, nutrition, price, sensory, convenience, environmental friendliness, hygiene and ethics. The study found that mean willingness to pay for quality was highest among high income consumers. It also found that confidence and consistency, subjective knowledge, reference point, income and age of children the consumer has were the main explanatory variable for WTP. The study concludes that there is demand for quality of leafy vegetables and discusses policy implications.