Demand for African Nutmeg and Scent Leaf Spice among Households in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Spices are potential sources of some micronutrients of which Nigeria ranks low in consumption and this could be as a result of low demand. The objective of this study was therefore to analyze the demand for African Nutmeg (AN) and Scent Leaf (SL) in Imo State, Nigeria. A well-structured pretested questionnaire was used to gather information on household socio-economic characteristics (age, household size, income and educational level), household food expenditure, quantity of spice consumed and price per unit from a total sample size of 340 households. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and double hurdle model at α_0.05. The study revealed that age, household size and monthly income were 50.5 ± 11.0 years, 6.5 ± 2.5 and N104, 699.0 ± N84,104.0 respectively. Households’ health awareness on spices was relatively low (17.4%) for AN while it was high (65.6%) for SL. Scent leaf had a higher Expenditure Share on spices (ES) (27%) and Per Capita Expenditure (PCE) (N56.40/month) than AN with an ES (24%) and PCE (N40.32). Per capita expenditure, income class, location and prices of African nutmeg and scent leaf respectively influence household’s decision to consume and subsequently demand AN and SL in Imo state. Rural-urban differences exist in the demand for both spices by households in Imo state. The study however recommends an increased awareness on the nutritional and medicinal properties of the selected spices which invariably would lead to an increase in its demand.

Keywords: Household demand, Double hurdle, Micro-nutrients and Imo state