IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ssefpa/v16y2024i1d10.1007_s12571-023-01401-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food choice responses to changes in the price of a staple crop: a discrete choice experiment of maize in rural Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • M. Matita

    (University of Malawi
    Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, ACE II AF-APA)

  • J. Mazalale

    (University of Malawi)

  • M. Quaife

    (Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)

  • D. Johnston

    (SOAS University of London)

  • L. Cornelsen

    (Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)

  • T. Kamwanja

    (University of Malawi
    University of Leicester)

  • R. Smith

    (University of Exeter)

  • H. Walls

    (Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)

Abstract

Price and affordability are important drivers of food choice, particularly for rural smallholder farming households in Malawi, experiencing extreme poverty, food insecurity, and lack of dietary diversity. Lowering the cost of staple crops such as maize targeted by agricultural input subsidy programmes (AISPs) may potentially increase consumption of the staple crop, but it might also lead to consumption of a more diverse range of foods. Using a discrete choice experiment, this study investigated food choice responses to changes in maize price in rural Malawi. Study participants (n = 400) were given a series of choice tasks for which they were asked to choose between food baskets with varying cost, reflecting local prices and with maize at both high and low price. Baskets contained different types of foods including maize, rice, cabbage, small-dried fish, and/or a soft drink. The data were analysed using mixed logit models including investigation of heterogenous effects based on socio-demographic characteristics, food security and actual market purchases. Individuals revealed a preference, as expected, for lower cost food baskets. Small-dried fish and cabbage were the highest valued food products. At a low cost of maize, the expected utility from a basket with maize was greater than a basket with other items, particularly among households with high- and low-food purchases, low socioeconomic status, living in Phalombe District, and experiencing food insecurity, indicating that among such populations a low price of maize will not necessarily lead to increases in dietary diversity. In contrast, among households living in Lilongwe District, with high SES and food secure, a lower maize price will not lead to a loss in dietary diversity as they prefer a basket containing non-maize products over maize. The findings suggest that achieving food security and dietary diversity may require a range of policy approaches addressing different pathways of impact as opposed to relying on subsidizing inputs for staple crop production.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Matita & J. Mazalale & M. Quaife & D. Johnston & L. Cornelsen & T. Kamwanja & R. Smith & H. Walls, 2024. "Food choice responses to changes in the price of a staple crop: a discrete choice experiment of maize in rural Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:16:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s12571-023-01401-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-023-01401-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-023-01401-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12571-023-01401-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. De Marchi, Elisa & Caputo, Vincenzina & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Banterle, Alessandro, 2016. "Time preferences and food choices: Evidence from a choice experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 99-109.
    3. Noora-Lisa Aberman & Terry Roopnaraine, 2020. "To sell or consume? Gendered household decision-making on crop production, consumption, and sale 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 433-447, April.
    4. Esther W. de Bekker‐Grob & Mandy Ryan & Karen Gerard, 2012. "Discrete choice experiments in health economics: a review of the literature," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 145-172, February.
    5. Zanello, Giacomo & Shankar, Bhavani & Poole, Nigel, 2019. "Buy or make? Agricultural production diversity, markets and dietary diversity in Afghanistan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Blessings Chinsinga & Colin Poulton, 2014. "Beyond Technocratic Debates: The Significance and Transience of Political Incentives in the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 32(s2), pages 123-150, September.
    7. Helen Walls & Deborah Johnston & Mirriam Matita & Ephraim Chirwa & Jacob Mazalale & Matthew Quaife & Tayamika Kamwanja & Richard Smith, 2023. "How effectively might agricultural input subsidies improve nutrition? A case study of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 21-39, February.
    8. Hirvonen, Kalle & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum & Worku, Ibrahim, 2015. "Seasonality and household diets in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 74, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Mandy Ryan & Karen Gerard & Gillian Currie, 2012. "Using Discrete Choice Experiments in Health Economics," Chapters, in: Andrew M. Jones (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Health Economics, Second Edition, chapter 41, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Mohammed H. Alemu & Søren B. Olsen, 2019. "Linking Consumers’ Food Choice Motives to their Preferences for Insect‐based Food Products: An Application of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model in an African Context," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 241-258, February.
    11. 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.
    12. Chirwa, Ephraim & Dorward, Andrew, 2013. "Agricultural Input Subsidies: The Recent Malawi Experience," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199683529, Decembrie.
    13. Hirvonen, Kalle & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum & Worku, Ibrahim, 2015. "Synopsis: Seasonality and household diets in Ethiopia," ESSP research notes 42, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. 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.
    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. Krah, Kwabena & Michelson, Hope & Perge, Emilie & Jindal, Rohit, 2019. "Constraints to adopting soil fertility management practices in Malawi: A choice experiment approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Christoph Schulze & Katarzyna Zagórska & Kati Häfner & Olimpia Markiewicz & Mikołaj Czajkowski & Bettina Matzdorf, 2024. "Using farmers' ex ante preferences to design agri‐environmental contracts: A systematic review," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 44-83, February.
    3. Kotu, Bekele Hundie & Oyinbo, Oyakhilomen & Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard & Nurudeen, Abdul Rahman & Kizito, Fred & Boyubie, Benedict, 2021. "Are Smallholder Farmers Interested in Practicing Sustainable Intensification? A Choice Experiment on Farmers’ Preferences for Sustainability Attributes of Maize Production in Ghana," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315032, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. 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).
    5. Katengeza, Samson P. & Holden, Stein T. & Fisher, Monica, 2019. "Use of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Technologies in Malawi: Impact of Dry Spells Exposure," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 134-152.
    6. Chavez, Daniel E. & Palma, Marco A. & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Mjelde, James W., 2020. "Product availability in discrete choice experiments with private goods," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    7. Mahieu, Pierre-Alexandre & Andersson, Henrik & Beaumais, Olivier & Crastes dit Sourd, Romain & Hess, François-Charles & Wolff, François-Charles, 2017. "Stated preferences: a unique database composed of 1657 recent published articles in journals related to agriculture, environment, or health," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 98(3), November.
    8. Matita,Mirriam & Zingwe,David & Dizon,Felipe Jr Fadullon, 2024. "Comparative Impacts of Input Subsidies, Irrigation Investments, and Social Cash Transfers on Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10778, The World Bank.
    9. Brouwers, Jonas & Cox, Bianca & Van Wilder, Astrid & Claessens, Fien & Bruyneel, Luk & De Ridder, Dirk & Eeckloo, Kristof & Vanhaecht, Kris, 2021. "The future of hospital quality of care policy: A multi-stakeholder discrete choice experiment in Flanders, Belgium," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(12), pages 1565-1573.
    10. Marta Trapero-Bertran & Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín & Julio López-Bastida, 2019. "What attributes should be included in a discrete choice experiment related to health technologies? A systematic literature review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, July.
    11. Holte, Jon Helgheim & Kjaer, Trine & Abelsen, Birgit & Olsen, Jan Abel, 2015. "The impact of pecuniary and non-pecuniary incentives for attracting young doctors to rural general practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 1-9.
    12. Matita, Mirriam & Chiwaula, Levison & Wadonda Chirwa, Ephraim & Mazalale, Jacob & Walls, Helen, 2022. "Subsidizing improved legume seeds for increased household dietary diversity: Evidence from Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme with implications for addressing malnutrition in all its forms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    13. Andrew Briggs, 2016. "A View from the Bridge: Health Economic Evaluation — A Value‐Based Framework?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(12), pages 1499-1502, December.
    14. Phu Nguyen Van & Thierry Blayac & Dimitri Dubois & Sebastien Duchene & Marc Willinger & Bruno Ventelou, 2021. "Designing acceptable anti-COVID-19 policies by taking into account individuals’ preferences: evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment," EconomiX Working Papers 2021-33, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    15. Takefumi Fujimoto & Aya Suzuki, 2024. "Do fertilizer and seed subsidies strengthen farmers' market participation? Evidence from Tanzania's subsidy program," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 339-359, February.
    16. Makoza, Frank, 2024. "The effect of mobile network quality on use of mobile application in Affordable Inputs Program of Malawi," EconStor Preprints 302572, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Haghani, Milad & Bliemer, Michiel C.J. & Rose, John M. & Oppewal, Harmen & Lancsar, Emily, 2021. "Hypothetical bias in stated choice experiments: Part I. Macro-scale analysis of literature and integrative synthesis of empirical evidence from applied economics, experimental psychology and neuroimag," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    18. Rachel Milte & Julie Ratcliffe & Gang Chen & Michelle Miller & Maria Crotty, 2018. "Taste, choice and timing: Investigating resident and carer preferences for meals in aged care homes," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 116-124, March.
    19. Sangeethaa, V & Bishnoia , S & Venkateshb, P & Singha, P & Satyapriyaa, & Lenina, V & Paula, S & Baruaa, S & Krishnana, M & Singha, S, 2018. "Rural households’ preferences for nutri-cereals supplied through public distribution system: a discrete choice experiment," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 31(2).
    20. 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.

    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:spr:ssefpa:v:16:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s12571-023-01401-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.