Kahwai Jane N, Mburu John I, Oulu Martin O, Hutchinson Margaret J
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya.
Int J Food Sci. 2021 Jan 29;2021:6676148. doi: 10.1155/2021/6676148. eCollection 2021.
From the perspective of food categories, fresh produce are the leading sources of food loss and waste globally. Their highly perishable nature shortens their shelf-lives leading to high postharvest losses if not properly handled. Currently, these losses are estimated at sixty-six percent based on total weight. Reduction of these losses will ensure constant supply of food along the supply chain as well as economic empowerment of the rural poor. Hexanal which is a naturally occurring compound has been developed as an intervention to prolong shelf-life of delicate tropical fruits such as bananas while also maintaining their quality. However, empirical evidence is still required on the usefulness of hexanal to farmers. It is envisaged that such evidence would inform scaling up of the technology in Kenya. This study assessed willingness to pay for hexanal and the factors influencing WTP amounts among banana farmers in Meru County, Kenya. Primary data was collected from 130 respondents who were grouped into aware and not aware of Hexanal. Results indicate that farmers who are aware of hexanal had a higher mean WTP Ksh 466.47 (US $4.66) compared to those not aware Ksh 331.86 (US $3.32). Factors such as age and income influenced the WTP amounts between subsamples. The major key policy implication of the study is the importance of stakeholders investing in the dissemination of information on hexanal among farmers to enhance uptake.
从食品类别来看，新鲜农产品是全球食品损失和浪费的主要来源。它们极易腐烂的特性缩短了保质期，如果处理不当会导致很高的收获后损失。目前，基于总重量估算这些损失率为66%。减少这些损失将确保供应链上食品的持续供应，并增强农村贫困人口的经济能力。己醛是一种天然存在的化合物，已被开发用作延长香蕉等娇嫩热带水果保质期并保持其品质的一种干预措施。然而，仍需要关于己醛对农民有用性的实证证据。预计这样的证据将为肯尼亚扩大该技术的应用提供依据。本研究评估了肯尼亚梅鲁县香蕉种植农民对己醛的支付意愿以及影响支付意愿金额的因素。从130名受访者收集了原始数据，这些受访者被分为知晓己醛和不知晓己醛两组。结果表明，知晓己醛的农民平均支付意愿为466.47肯尼亚先令（4.66美元），高于不知晓己醛的农民，后者为331.86肯尼亚先令（3.32美元）。年龄和收入等因素影响了子样本之间的支付意愿金额。该研究的主要关键政策含义是利益相关者向农民传播己醛信息以促进采用的重要性。
