Mohammed Hussen Alemu

Benefits of meeting nutrient reduction targets for the Baltic Sea - a contingent valuation study in the nine coastal states

This paper presents the results of an internationally coordinated contingent valuation study on the benefits of reducing marine eutrophication in the Baltic Sea according to current policy targets. With over 10,500 respondents from the nine coastal states around the sea, we examine public willingness to pay (WTP) for reduced eutrophication and its determinants. There are considerable differences in mean WTP between countries, with Swedes being willing to pay the most and Latvians the least. The aggregate annual WTP is approximately €3600 million. In addition, we find that countries are heterogeneous in terms of the effects of income, attitudes and familiarity on WTP. Income elasticities of WTP are below 1 for all countries, ranging between 0.1 and 0.5. Attitudes and personal experience of eutrophication are important determinants of WTP, but the specific effects differ between countries. The findings can be used in economic analyses for the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive and to justify additional eutrophication reduction measures in the Baltic Sea.

Can insects increase food security in developing countries? An analysis of Kenyan consumer preferences and demand for cricket flour buns

Achieving food security in an environmentally sustainable manner is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Using insects as food can serve this purpose because they are nutritionally valuable and environmentally friendly. Embracing insects as food requires information on potential consumer demand as this would determine the success of product development. In this study, we present one of the first thorough assessments of consumer demand for an insect-based food. We assessed the demand in terms of Kenyan consumer preferences and willingness to pay for buns containing varying amounts of cricket flour. We also assessed demand by predicting the market share in a presumed market scenario. The study used an incentivized discrete choice experiment integrated with sensory evaluations. This was intended to reduce any hypothetical bias and to allow participants to acquire experience by tasting the buns. We found significant and positive preferences for the cricket-flour-based buns. The bun products with medium amounts (5%) of cricket flour were preferred to no or high amounts (10%) of cricket flour. Market share predictions showed that cricket-flour-based buns were likely to obtain greater market shares than standard buns. Results also suggested that a market for breads made with cricket flour is likely in Kenya since the demand is present. This signals that insect-based food products may serve as a viable and demand-driven way to increase food security in Kenya in the future.

Kenyan Consumers’ Experience of Using Edible Insects as Food and Their Preferences for Selected Insect-Based Food Products

In this chapter we present information in relation to consumption, purchase experience, consumption frequency and peoples’ perceptions of how others see edible insects as food in Kenya. Two edible insects, namely termites (Macrotermes subhyalinus) and mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) were considered to study Kenyan consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for termite-based food products (TBFPs) and their reactions to using mealworms as food. In the research, whole and processed insects were considered in order to examine consumers’ WTP for TBFPs in different products formats and contexts. The data originates from a choice experiment survey conducted between December 2014 and January 2015 involving a sample of Kenyan consumers. To ensure a high degree of representativeness of the sample, five counties including Siaya, Kisumu, Nairobi, Kakamega and Machakos were chosen due to their diversity with regard to insect consumption traditions, regions (rural or urban), and socio-demographic factors (age, education and gender). In total, 611 consumers who were either household heads or spouses were randomly sampled in the survey areas and interviewed using face-to-face interviews.

Linking Consumers’ Food Choice Motives to their Preferences for Insect-based Food Products: An Application of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model in an African Context

Consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, personalities and motives play important roles in shaping their food choices. These factors are not fully observed by analysts, so they should be treated as latent variables. A number of economic studies treat such variables as direct measures of consumers’ food choice behaviour, even though this might introduce measurement error and endogeneity bias. We investigate the latent link between consumers’ preferences and food choice motives (FCMs) in an African context. We use an integrated choice and latent variable (ICLV) model specification for data analysis to recognise the latent nature of the FCMs and address the measurement and bias problems. The data originate from an incentivised discrete choice experiment conducted in Kenya to elicit consumers’ preferences for insect‐based foods. Our findings show that consumers’ preferences and choices are influenced by their latent motivational orientation. The results illustrate the benefit of the ICLV approach in accounting for consumers’ latent preference constructs in food choice and valuation research.