Valuing organic farming: an experimental study of the consumer

S. Blondel and M. Javaheri

Abstract
Most consumers have a favourable attitude towards the quality of food products but how much are they willing to pay for? This question is crucial because if their willingness to pay is too little, nobody in the channel will promote the introduction of quality.

Using experimental procedures, this study examined one sign of quality, organic farming, for wine and apples. The experimental design made it possible to control the treatment of information and observe real individual decisions in light of an incentive scheme.

The decisions in the experiment were choices between conventional and organic products, with various prices for both products. It has been observed in the literature that choices and buying prices can be inconsistent. However, the consumers in the present study appear consistent in their decisions. They pay significantly more for organic food than conventional food (approximately 20%) and the richer ones are willing to pay significantly more than the others are.


Source
Acta-Horticulturae (2004) 655: 245-252


en français