IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i18p13321-d1233507.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Adopting Sustainable Corn Traits: A Choice Experiment in Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Barriviera

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy)

  • Diego Bosco

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy)

  • Sara Daniotti

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy)

  • Carlo Massimo Pozzi

    (Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy)

  • Maria Elena Saija

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy)

  • Ilaria Re

    (Consorzio Italbiotec, 20126 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

Corn is a major staple crop known for its nutritional value and versatility in industrial applications. Climate change threatens sustainable production, making understanding farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for desirable traits crucial in seed selection. This study employs the Choice Experiment (CE) to assess the importance of key attributes, including yield potential, disease resistance, yield under water stress conditions, and price. The evaluation was conducted in Italy on a sample of 31 producers in the Lombardy region, where corn cultivation occupies 50% of the arable land, and the national annual volume equals about 11 million tons. Results indicate that yield under water stress conditions is the most critical attribute reflecting the need for high productivity to cope with yield fluctuations and production costs induced by climate change. The significance of this study lies in its ability to provide insights into farmers’ preferences and their priorities for maize seed attributes, which in turn offer invaluable decision support to seed breeding programs. This contribution not only promotes the development of improved corn traits and varieties for sustainable production and global food security but also guides resilient investment decisions and effective marketing strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Barriviera & Diego Bosco & Sara Daniotti & Carlo Massimo Pozzi & Maria Elena Saija & Ilaria Re, 2023. "Assessing Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Adopting Sustainable Corn Traits: A Choice Experiment in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-13, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13321-:d:1233507
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13321/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13321/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tajana Čop & Mario Njavro, 2022. "Application of Discrete Choice Experiment in Agricultural Risk Management: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Gabrielle E. Roesch-McNally & J. Gordon Arbuckle & John Charles Tyndall, 2017. "What would farmers do? Adaptation intentions under a Corn Belt climate change scenario," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 333-346, June.
    3. Timothy R. Silberg & Robert B. Richardson & Maria Claudia Lopez, 2020. "Maize farmer preferences for intercropping systems to reduce Striga in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 269-283, April.
    4. Birol, Ekin & Villalba, Eric Rayn & Smale, Melinda, 2009. "Farmer preferences for milpa diversity and genetically modified maize in Mexico: a latent class approach," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 521-540, August.
    5. Olaf Erenstein & Moti Jaleta & Kai Sonder & Khondoker Mottaleb & B.M. Prasanna, 2022. "Global maize production, consumption and trade: trends and R&D implications," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(5), pages 1295-1319, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert Czubaszek & Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek & Wendelin Wichtmann & Grzegorz Zając & Piotr Banaszuk, 2023. "Common Reed and Maize Silage Co-Digestion as a Pathway towards Sustainable Biogas Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-25, January.
    2. Kenneth, Akankwasa & Gerald, Ortmann & Edilegnaw, Wale & Wilberforce, Tushemereirwe, 2012. "Ex-Ante Adoption of New Cooking Banana (Matooke) Hybrids in Uganda Based on Farmers' Perceptions," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 123302, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Abebe, Fentahun & Zuo, Alec & Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Bjornlund, Henning & Chilundo, Mario & Kissoly, Luitfred & Dube, Thabani, 2022. "The influences on farmers' planned and actual farm adaptation decisions: Evidence from small-scale irrigation schemes in South-Eastern Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    4. Sheena A. Stewart & Katherine D. Arbuthnott & David J. Sauchyn, 2023. "Climate Change Perceptions and Associated Characteristics in Canadian Prairie Agricultural Producers," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Melissa Parks, 2022. "Exploring the influence of social and informational networks on small farmers’ responses to climate change in Oregon," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1407-1419, December.
    6. Ortega, David L. & Waldman, Kurt B. & Richardson, Robert B. & Clay, Daniel C. & Snapp, Sieglinde, 2016. "Sustainable Intensification and Farmer Preferences for Crop System Attributes: Evidence from Malawi’s Central and Southern Regions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 139-151.
    7. Mirosław Wyszkowski & Natalia Kordala, 2024. "Effects of Humic Acids on Calorific Value and Chemical Composition of Maize Biomass in Iron-Contaminated Soil Phytostabilisation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Damien Jourdain & Juliette Lairez & Bruno Striffler & François Affholder, 2020. "Farmers’ preference for cropping systems and the development of sustainable intensification: a choice experiment approach," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(4), pages 417-437, December.
    9. Timothy R. Silberg & Robert B. Richardson & Maria Claudia Lopez, 2020. "Maize farmer preferences for intercropping systems to reduce Striga in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 269-283, April.
    10. Mercado, Waldemar & Vásquez Lavín, Felipe & Ubillus, Karina & Orihuela, Carlos Enrique, 2020. "¿Es relevante la biodiversidad en la decisión de visita a los parques nacionales en el Perú?," Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales, Spanish Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 20(02), December.
    11. Kikulwe, Enoch M. & Birol, Ekin & Wesseler, Justus & Falck-Zepeda, Jose Benjamin, 2013. "Benefits, costs, and consumer perceptions of the potential introduction of a fungus-resistant banana in Uganda and policy implications," IFPRI book chapters, in: Falck-Zepeda, Jose Benjamin & Gruère, Guillaume P. & Sithole-Niang, Idah (ed.), Genetically modified crops in Africa: Economic and policy lessons from countries south of the Sahara, chapter 4, pages 99-141, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Cardona, Tur J. & Speelman, S. & Sanou, E., 2018. "Farmers attitudes towards GMO crops: comparison of attitudes towards first and second generation crops in Burkina Faso," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276968, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Tenkasi Raghu, Prabhakaran & Das, Sukanya & S, Bala Ravi & E.D.I, Oliver King, 2012. "Assessing Farmer’s Willingness to Participate in the On-farm Conservation of Minor Millet using Direct Compensation Payment," MPRA Paper 45079, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Jourdain, Damien & Lairez, Juliette & Striffler, Bruno & Lundhede, Thomas, 2022. "A choice experiment approach to evaluate maize farmers’ decision-making processes in Lao PDR," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    15. Kotu, Bekele Hundie & Oyinbo, Oyakhilomen & Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard & Nurudeen, Abdul Rahman & Kizito, Fred & Boyubie, Benedict, 2022. "Smallholder farmers’ preferences for sustainable intensification attributes in maize production: Evidence from Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    16. Kamila Nowosad & Jan Bocianowski & Farzad Kianersi & Alireza Pour-Aboughadareh, 2023. "Analysis of Linkage on Interaction of Main Aspects (Genotype by Environment Interaction, Stability and Genetic Parameters) of 1000 Kernels in Maize ( Zea mays L.)," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Waldman, Kurt B. & Ortega, David L. & Richardson, Robert B. & Snapp, Sieglinde S., 2017. "Estimating demand for perennial pigeon pea in Malawi using choice experiments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 222-230.
    18. Jacques Fils Pierre & Luis Latournerie-Moreno & René Garruña-Hernández & Krista L. Jacobsen & Carrie A. M. Laboski & Lucila de Lourdes Salazar-Barrientos & Esaú Ruiz-Sánchez, 2021. "Farmer Perceptions of Adopting Novel Legumes in Traditional Maize-Based Farming Systems in the Yucatan Peninsula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-16, October.
    19. Yangjie Ren & Yitong Zhang & Shiyang Guo & Ben Wang & Siqi Wang & Wei Gao, 2023. "Pipe Cavitation Parameters Reveal Bubble Embolism Dynamics in Maize Xylem Vessels across Water Potential Gradients," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, September.
    20. Lijing Gao & J. Arbuckle, 2022. "Examining farmers’ adoption of nutrient management best management practices: a social cognitive framework," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 535-553, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13321-:d:1233507. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.