Farmers as Consumers of Quality Fertilizers: Willingness to Pay and Empirical Evidences from Bangladesh
Mahmuda Nasrin *
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.
Siegfried Bauer
Faculty of Agricultural Science, Nutritional Science and Environmental Management, Justus-Liebig University, Gruenberger Strasse 9, 35390 Giessen, Germany.
Md Arman
Faculty of Agricultural Science, Nutritional Science and Environmental Management, Justus-Liebig University, Gruenberger Strasse 9, 35390 Giessen, Germany.
Shamima Akhter
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study investigated farmer’s willingness to pay for getting quality fertilizers by employing probit and ordered probit models as the quality of fertilizers were often adulterated in Bangladesh. Primary data collected from 300 farm households were utilized. Results indicated that an average farmer’s willingness to pay was influenced significantly by the farm size group, annual income, off-farm income, product prices and financial constraints. All farmers except marginal farmers were more likely to be willing to pay more than market prices for urea and MoP. The findings suggested for adjusting the farm size group specific subsidy policies. More off-farm employment opportunities could be created in the farming regions to strengthen farmer’s financial capability.
Keywords: Willingness-to-pay, stated preference method, adulteration, farm size group, subsidy policy