Assessment of consumers’ preference for orange-fleshed sweet potato puree chapati: a case of rural and urban consumers in Kenya

Background Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) is bio-fortified with vitamin A precursors through breeding and is thus ideal for combating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). One of the potential mechanisms to promote the consumption of OFSP is to enhance its availability through processing into products with a longer shelf life and more desirable to consumers. However, very few farmers and agro-processors practice value addition due to market uncertainties; there is little information on market availability for OFSP products. This study examined consumers’ preference for OFSP puree chapati in rural and urban areas of Kenya, using the contingent valuation method. Data was collected from a random sample of 411 sweetpotato consumers and a double-bounded logit model was applied to analyze consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for OFSP puree chapati. Results Consumers were willing to pay a price of Kshs 19 (USD0.14) and 35 (USD0.26) for OFSP puree chapati in Homa Bay and Nairobi counties, respectively. The presence of children under five years in a household, consumers' awareness of OFSP products and benefits of consuming OFSP, and level of education had a positive and significant influence on WTP for OFSP puree chapati in both regions. Conclusion The study demonstrated that consumers exhibited a positive preference for OFSP puree chapati. In order to increase the consumption of OFSP and its value-added products, it is important to promote consumer awareness of OFSP puree chapati and other such nutritious products through cooking demonstrations and other nudging approaches using attractive illustrations and social media platforms that engage mothers and care-givers of children under five years old as well as the youth