Attribute Non-Attendance in Discrete Choice Experiments: Evidence from Farmers’ Choice Decisions for Sweet Potato Varietal Traits in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to contribute to our better understanding of farmers’ attribute non-attendance in their choice decisions for sweet potato varietal traits in Kenya. This was achieved by evaluating both stated and inferred attribute non-attendance in a discrete choice experiment of farmers’ in Western Kenya that involved six sweet potato varietal traits, namely: yield level, tolerance to pests and diseases, sweetness of the flesh, color of the flesh, maturity period and price. Empirical results from 400 randomly selected farmers indicate that flesh color was the most ignored attribute from both self-reported (61.8%) and inferred (59.2%) attribute non-attendance. There was also a considerable mismatch between self-reported and inferred attribute non-attendance values. The study found improvement in model fit when attribute non-attendance was taken into account, therefore implying that it is critical to account for attribute non-attendance in policy studies involving discrete choice experiments.

Keywords: Attribute non-attendance, discrete choice experiment, sweet potato variety

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-12-01

Publication date:June 30^th 2022