Analysis of consumers'l behaviour and willingness to pay (WTP) for purchasing organic vegetables in Thrissur corporation of Kerala

Organic farming is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. India ranks 8th in terms of organic agricultural land and 1st in terms of total number of producers as per 2020 data. Organic Farming is showing a positive growth trend in the country and the organic food market in India is estimated to be growing at a 25-30 per cent. The rise in income levels, greater environment and health consciousness has increased the consumer demand for organic vegetables. As vegetables form a substantial portion of people's daily food consumption, studying consumer behaviour and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic vegetables is highly relevant. A total of 200 consumers, constituting 50 consumers from four functioning organic eco shops in Thrissur Corporation area were interviewed and contingent valuation method was used to estimate the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). Consumers’ perception was analysed using Likert scale technique. The majority of consumers agreed with the health, nutritional, taste, and environmental benefits of organic vegetables. The mean WTP estimates for selected vegetables, cowpea, bitter gourd and ash gourd, were 70.860 ± 1.301, 68.384 ± 1.326 and 34.370 ± 0.400 respectively.