Academic thesis for obtaining a master's degree Field: Agricultural engineering specialization: Agricultural Management
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors influencing the willingness of urban households in Gilan to pay for organic rice. The current research is applied and descriptive, correlational and field method using a questionnaire. The statistical population of this research includes all the consumers of rice in Rasht city. In this research, 294 people were selected as the sample size using pre-test information and the Michel and Carson method at a significance level of 5% and the difference between actual and estimated WTP of 10%. The content and face validity of the research tool was obtained by experts and professors of the university, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to ensure the validity of the questionnaires, the value of which was 0.875. SPSS software and statistical indicators such as correlation coefficient, t-test and linear regression were used to analyze the data. Apart from the use of logit model, Heckman's two-stage model was also used in this research. The results of the logit model show that there is a significant relationship at the level of 1% between the variables of education, monthly income, recognition of the benefits of organic rice, the measurement and attitude of consumers of organic products with the acceptance of organic rice, and the willingness to pay for a kilogram of organic Hashmi rice in this model is equal to 8.24% in comparison with normal Hashmi rice, and in Heckman's model, there is a significant relationship at the level of 1% between the variables Education level, monthly household income, measurement and attitude of consumers of organic products with the acceptance of organic rice, and the amount of willingness to pay in this model for a kilogram of organic Hashemi rice compared to normal Hashemi rice is equivalent to 6.13%.
Keywords: Willingness to pay, organic products, organic rice, Gilan province, urban household
Introduction
In the 1950s, two factors of population increase and limited primary production resources caused the green revolution in the world. A revolution by which traditional agriculture moved towards industrial agriculture. The use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers and poisons was one of the benefits of industrial agriculture. But the indiscriminate use of these inputs led to problems and dilemmas in the production process in less than two decades, and the health of agricultural products and, consequently, the health of consumers, were at risk.
Indiscriminate reliance on foreign inputs, especially fertilizers and chemical pesticides, agricultural machinery, and indiscriminate exploitation of water and soil has put undue pressure on the natural environment as well as the health of society. is So that in recent decades, due to concern about these problems, modern agricultural systems were severely criticized and a global consensus was formed to develop a type of agriculture that can increase productivity while causing the least damage (Kazemi, 2011). In fact, the adverse effect and residual effects of the consumption of various chemical substances and poisons in food production and the environment in advanced industrialized countries have caused agriculture to evolve in a completely opposite direction to the modern method, which is to prevent the consumption of any chemical substances or man-made inputs in agricultural, horticultural and livestock productions (Kavoosi Kalashami et al, 2012). Concerns about the residual toxins in agricultural products caused attention to organic agriculture in many countries of the world, so that in recent years, the production of organic products in the world has grown increasingly. In fact, organic agriculture strengthens and develops the health of biological ecosystems, biological cycles and soil biological activity. In other words, organic products are products whose growth stages are natural and grow in soil that has not been used for a few years, such as herbicides and fungicides, and has only been enriched with natural materials such as plant compost and animal manure.. Also, no genetic modification is done in the composition of organic products, and for this reason, the color, smell, size and shape of these products are natural. In many countries of the world, the symbol of organic products is a small apple with a smiling worm coming out of it. In fact, this symbol indicates that this product has not lost its natural properties due to the lack of pesticide spraying, and due to the lack of use of chemical fertilizers, it has preserved its true taste and grown to its natural size.
The current consumption patterns of organic products in developing countries, especially in urban areas, are unstable, increasing productivity and technological advances alone are not enough to achieve growth in the consumption of organic products in society, as well as the consumer's willingness to pay The cost of organic products creates another challenge to maintain consumption due to the higher price of organic products than conventional products. The price of organic products is sometimes up to twice as much as the regular products in the market, therefore, the price prevents the consumption of low-income people and customers always complain about the excessive price of these products. The increase in the prevalence of diseases, together with the emergence of public awareness of the dangers of food processing, has raised concerns about safer and healthier methods of food production and production of organic products, for this reason, many governments are encouraging farmers to move towards organic agriculture through innovation, marketing and communication, and with the cooperation of consumers to achieve a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle (Valerian et al, 2011). Therefore, this move towards accepting the production and use of organic products requires conducting research to determine the level of knowledge of producers and consumers regarding organic products. In other words, without knowledge and awareness of the mentioned factors, any action will lead to the waste of material and human resources.
Statement of the problem
With the increase in the population, the consumption of chemicals in the agricultural sector has faced a significant growth. According to statistics, in the last decade, the consumption of chemical fertilizers in Iran increased from 2.4 million tons in 1378 to 3.4 million tons in 1387, and also, more than 27 thousand tons of chemical pesticides are consumed annually in the agricultural sector (Rajabi et al., 2013). They disrupt agricultural and natural ecosystems and reduce soil fertility. Various researches have shown that poisons and pesticides have direct effects on living organisms, livestock and especially humans (Razmjoo, 1377).
Despite the improvement of public awareness at the world level regarding the dangers of the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, every year in Iran we see an increase in health and environmental costs caused by the use of these substances in the agricultural sector (Nasimi, 1379).
The lack of knowledge and lack of technical knowledge of farmers caused the sub-optimal use of agricultural inputs in such a way that the available evidence shows that excessive consumption of some agricultural inputs not only did not increase production, but also caused a decrease in production (Omani, 2010). In this regard, the main concerns in global reports are related to the rapid and serious reduction of basic agricultural resources through soil erosion, salinity, desertification, extinction of plant and animal species, and environmental pollution. The main cause of these concerns is the excessive use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and agricultural tools and the spread of mechanized farming (Zooqi, 2016). It seems necessary to stop the excessive use of pesticides and other chemicals that cause an increase in diseases such as cancer. According to statistics obtained from the Iranian Cancer Statistics Center, cancer is the second most common cause of death after cardiovascular diseases in developed countries and the third most common cause of death in less developed countries. It alone kills more people than tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria, so that if there is no intervention to prevent its occurrence in the next 10 years, witness More than 85 million people will die in the world. Currently, cancer is the cause of 12% of deaths worldwide. Projections indicate that the number of cancer deaths worldwide will increase by 45% between 2007 and 2030 (from 7.9 million to 12 million deaths).