Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Fresh-Water Grown Leafy Vegetables

Abstract

Wastewater-grown vegetables are responsible for various diseases whereas freshwater-grown vegetables are comparatively expensive. This paper examines consumers’ willingness to pay for freshwater grown leafy vegetables, such as, cauliflower, spinach and salad. For this purpose, a survey was conducted in five selected areas of Quetta city using contingent valuation method and 255 vegetable-consumers were questioned directly with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. The results indicate that most of the vegetable consumers (87-88%) are willing to pay extra amounts for FWGV. On average, a vegetable consumer is willing to pay 27.4%, 43% and 52% more than the original price for the three leafy vegetables (cauliflowers, salads and spinaches, respectively). The factors such as household income, level of education, awareness, use of freshwater-grown vegetables and employment were identified as determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay for FWGV. The study results reveal a high willingness to pay for FWGV by the vegetable consumers and suggests a comprehensive strategy on the part of the government to overcome the problem of wastewater-grown vegetables (WWGV).