Ex-ante Producer and Consumer Preference for Finger Millet in Karnataka: Application of Conjoint analysis and Logit Model

The common understanding by the research community is that farmers like to adopt improved varieties. While this is true in general, we often see that some improved varieties are not accepted by farmers. The reasons for such can be many. In this study, an attempt was made to verify whether there are any other traits that farmers seek in a ragi variety. We select several traits including those related to yield and production aspects as well as ultimate consumer preferences, and assess their relative importance by way of willingness to pay. This is achieved by estimating Conjoint analysis.. We further hypothesise that there are spatial relations in the willingness to pay for such traits and incorporate that into the analysis which resulted in a Logit model. Data for the study was collected by using a pre-tested questionnaire from both producers and consumers. For producer survey, the study was conducted in Tumakuru and Hassan districts of Karnataka, as they are the major ragi growing districts of Karnataka and for consumers survey, Bengaluru Urban and Hassan districts were selected based on consumption pattern. The results revealed that, analysis of producer preference indicated that, the farmers prefer more of long duration ragi varieties with high yield and drought tolerant. With respect to consumers preference, taste and aroma were found most important attributes. Further to know the willingness to pay (WTP) for new variety by producers was analyzed using Logit model. The results showed that, yield and colour had significant influence on farmers WTP for new ragi variety. The findings of the study further reinforce the potentials of ragi cultivation in Karnataka. Besides, the implementation of “Anna Bhagya Yojana” in Karnataka has given further impetus for increased demand for ragi. Therefore, there is a need to increase the production by means of increasing productivity. The scientists need to develop yield enhancing technologies with drought tolerance varieties.