Consumers’ Willingness to Pay Premium for Pesticide-Free Peach Fruit in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

The study was conducted in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with main aim of finding consumers’ willingness to pay premium and identifying the factors influencing their willingness to pay for pesticides-free peach fruit. Cross-sectional data during 2024 was collected by Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) from 199 (139 males and 60 female) respondents in three villages namely: Gogdara, Odigram and Tindodag being the major peach producing area of district swat. The interview schedule incorporated socio – demographic characteristics (age, household size, education, monthly income, gender), Knowledge about pesticides (awareness and health concern) and attitude toward pesticides residues (environmental concern). Descriptive statistics indicated that average age was 33.59 years, average education was 10.02 years and average family size was 5.29 members. Moreover, 57% of respondents were aware of pesticide use in fruits, 56% respondents were health conscious and 54% respondents were found concerned about environment. Binomial logistic regression model revealed that education, income, health consciences and environmental concern are positively significant factors in increasing willingness to pay for pesticides free peach fruit . Model further showed that age has negative effect on willingness to pay and gender and family size were statistically insignificant. Based on findings study recommends: informal awareness sessions for aged people regarding pesticides hazards, strengthening of formal education and focus on livelihood opportunities in order to increase consumers’ willingness to pay premium for organic agricultural products in study area.