Department of Maritime Civilizations, Charney School of Marine Science, and Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, 199 Abba Khoushy Blvd, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498838, Israel; School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth, WA, 6102, Australia.
Department of Economics and Management, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, 12210, Israel.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Mar 1;257:109979. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109979. Epub 2019 Dec 26.
Aquaponics, the combined rearing of fish and hydroponic horticulture, has great potential for sustainable food production. Despite increasing research and investments in commercial scale systems, aquaponics is not yet a successful industry and most businesses report negative returns. Aquaponic produce is thought to contain added value to the consumer, and the environment. As most consumers are unaware of aquaponics and their benefits, little is known of its potential market. The present study addresses this gap by analysing willingness to consume aquaponic produce at different price levels in Israel and Australia. We used econometric tools to study the effects of pricing and other factors on revenues in each country. Cluster analysis was used to define groups of potential consumers. The results indicate that 17-30% of the population in both Israel and Australia would prefer to consume aquaponic produce once informed of their added value. Revenues at a given premium would be higher in Israel than in Australia, and higher for a leafy green, than for fish. Different segments of the population differed in their willingness to consume aquaponic produce, as well as in their stated motivations when purchasing food. Conclusions highlight the importance of case-specific research on consumer preferences and economic considerations preceding commercial investment in aquaponics.
水培和水产养殖相结合的水培，在可持续粮食生产方面具有巨大的潜力。尽管在商业规模系统方面的研究和投资不断增加，但水培仍不是一个成功的产业，大多数企业报告亏损。水培产品被认为对消费者和环境具有附加值。由于大多数消费者不知道水培及其好处，因此对其潜在市场知之甚少。本研究通过分析以色列和澳大利亚不同价格水平下消费者对水培产品的消费意愿来填补这一空白。我们使用计量经济学工具来研究定价和其他因素对两国收入的影响。聚类分析用于定义潜在消费者群体。结果表明，以色列和澳大利亚各有 17-30%的人口表示，一旦了解到水培产品的附加值，他们更愿意消费水培产品。在给定溢价的情况下，以色列的收入将高于澳大利亚，而绿叶蔬菜的收入将高于鱼类。不同人群在消费水培产品的意愿以及购买食物时的陈述动机方面存在差异。结论强调了在商业投资水培之前，针对消费者偏好和经济考虑进行具体案例研究的重要性。
