Factors Influencing Consumers’ Willingness to Payfor Nigeria Processed Chicken in Kwara State

Abstract

Despite the ban on importation of frozen poultry products in Nigeria, about 1.2 million tonnes unwholesome products are been smuggled into the country annually. This practice is impacting negatively on the health of the citizenry and local producers continue to face daunting obstacles posed by activities of smugglers. This study analyzed the factors influencing urban households’ Willingness To Pay (WTP) for Nigeria Processed Chicken (NPC) in Kwara State. Data used for the study were obtained from 274 respondents using the multi-stage sampling techniques. They were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Probit regression. From the study, it is seen that the majority of the respondents (54.7%) were fairly educated with mean year of schooling of 12.97. About 34.7% and 13.9% of the respondents had below N50,000 and above N200,000 respectively as their total monthly income. The result indicates that over 80% of the respondents claimed that NPC was not readily available while the mean distance to sales outlets stood at 3.21 km. The probit estimation of willingness to pay increased significantly with education and income and decrease with distance to sales outlets. It was recommended that policies that will enhance respondents’ purchasing power should be pursued in order to encourage them to pay for Nigeria processed chicken. Also, the creation of more sales outlets for NPC should be considered.