Consumer Acceptability And Willingness To Pay For Selected Processed Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Products In Morogoro Municipality

ABSTRACT

Sweet potato with a negligible amount of vitamin A has been consumed for a long time in Sub-Saharan African (SSA)countries including Tanzania. The production and consumption of improved sweet potato varieties including orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) with high Vitamin A content has been promoted due to its potential to combat Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD). Adding value to OFSP will increase both its shelf-life and market demand. This study was conducted toassess consumer acceptability and willingness to pay (WTP) for selected processed OFSP products.Specifically, the research rated the attributes of the selected processed OFSP products for consumer acceptability, estimated the value consumers are willing to pay for selected processed OFSP products in the study area and determined factors influencing WTP for selected processed OFSP products.The study used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the populations’ WTP for the selected processed OFSP products. The survey was administered to 120 respondents who were characterized by having the behavior of purchasing packaged flour, breads and biscuits for their family consumption. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed usingdescriptive statistics,Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Logistics Regression. Results from the study show thatOFSPbread (30%) and OFSPbread (20%) were accepted in association with colour, taste and aroma attributes while acceptance of OFSP biscuits was associated with texture attribute.Results further show mean WTP of TZS4106.26per kg for OFSP flour, TZS1568.67per one-quarter kg for OFSPbread (30%), TZS1592 per one-quarter kg for OFSPbread(20%) and TZS973.84per one-tenth kg for OFSP biscuits. Results from Logistic Regression analysis established that bid/price, education level, income, nutrients and packaging as the factors influencing significantly consumers’WTP for the OFSP products understudy at P