Urban Consumers’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Orphan Crop Products: Evidence from a Choice Experiment on Porridge in Kenya

As a result of climate change, many of the region's staple crops are anticipated to decline in yield; further compromising food security. Orphan crops are better suited to extreme environmental stresses that many of the region's staple crops are unable to withstand. These crops provide a viable option in improving the future food security status of the region in the face of climate change and therefore their production and consumption should be encouraged. Consumer preferences are important to consider with regard to increasing the demand for orphan crops. Using porridge consumption in Kenya as a case study, this research has attempted to determine which porridge attributes consumers have a preference and willingness to pay for in order to gain a better understanding of how to increase the demand for orphan crop porridges. The data were collected using a choice experiment (900 respondents) and analyzed using the Random Parameter Logit. The findings of this research suggest that the most important attributes to consider with regard to increasing the consumer demand for orphan crop porridges in Kenya are the type of cereal used, the sugar content, the fibre content and the price. The use of orphan crops in other food products should be extensively explored.