Factors Influencing Consumer Preference for Rice in the North West Region of Cameroon

초록

Cameroon is a rice-importing country due to rapid population increase and urbanization growth. As agriculture becomes more market oriented so too are consumers preference changing. Therefore, this study specifically examines the factors influencing consumers preference for rice in Cameroon with a case study of Mezam and Ngoketunjia Divisions of the North West Regions. With the use of well-structured questionnaires, 300 rice consumers were sampled across the major market areas of the divisions. The multinomial logit model was used to assess why households in the study area consume the different categories of rice in the market, while factor analysis and linear regression were used to identify the rice quality or market attributes that had an influence on consumers decisions. The study revealed that rice consumers were in three categories, those who ate only local rice, and those who ate only imported rice, and those who ate both combinations of local and imported rice. The major socioeconomic factors that significantly influences consumers preference were income level, educational level and working status of rice household consumers. The rice quality or market related attributes with significant influence on consumers preference were taste, aroma, texture, and degree of whiteness of the grains after milling. Market attributes like origin and availability of rice were also significant factors, which influences consumer preference. Grouping these factors into two groups identifies the production or rice quality factors to have a general significant influence on rice consumption in the region. There are therefore needs to improve on the production and post-harvest chain. Those will greatly improve the quality and competitiveness of local rice in the Region.

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