Consumption patterns of organic vegetable consumers in Ghana

Abstract

The study examined organic vegetable attributes, consumer decisions and consumption patterns of consumers in Ghana. A sample of 399 consumers was selected using a simple random sampling technique and data was collected through structured questionnaires. The study analyzed the important attributes of organic vegetables using Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The factors influencing consumers' decision to consume organic vegetables and the proportion of their total expenditure allocated to organic vegetables was analyzed using Cragg's double hurdle model. Finally, ordered logit regression was employed to analyse the factors influencing the consumption patterns of organic vegetables consumers. The results revealed that consumers prioritize health concerns and sensory attributes when purchasing organic vegetables as these were identified as the most important attributes. Also, socioeconomic factors, viz. age group, educational level and income level, as well as institutional factors, viz. market type, availability of organic vegetables and accreditation, significantly influenced the decision and expenditure on organic vegetables. In addition, consumers exhibited irregular consumption patterns, and a significant proportion of consumers acquired information about organic vegetables through family and friends. Furthermore, the ordered logit regression analysis revealed several factors that significantly influenced the consumption patterns of organic vegetables. These include age category, educational level, household head, household size, income level, type of market, time to market, and accreditation. The study recommends that government and other stakeholders should consider consumers' consumption patterns, attributes of organic vegetables they consider prior to purchasing as well as factors influencing their decision-making when developing marketing strategies and policies for organic vegetable farmers. This approach can help meet consumer demands and help improve the development and promotion of organic vegetables in the market.