Analysing consumer's perception and willingness to pay for rabbit meat : a case study of Madiga Village, Polokwane Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is characterised by low production which can be attributed to a lack of diversification and flexibility in agricultural production. There has been an explosive change in consumer-food relationships due to increased knowledge in the food industry. It is no longer just about supplying what you have, but about what you are selling as a producer that can meet the required need of consumers. Producers’ primary objective in the food industry is to provide the product that consumers need. Rabbit meat is recognised in rural areas, however, most rural smallholder farmers do not take initiative in rabbit production. Madiga Village is one such area where rabbit production is not practised. Farmers at Madiga Village are focusing on livestock such as cattle, goat, sheep and pork; and none of them are focusing on rabbit production. This study’s main purpose was to understand consumers perception of and willingness to pay for rabbit meat and analysing this perception and willingness in relation to their socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, since rabbit meat competes with other types of meat, it was imperative for the scope of this study to compare rabbit meat with other types of meat. As such, rabbit meat was compared with chicken, beef, pork and mutton. Information for this study on the perception of and willingness to pay was collected using a structured questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. The data that was collected was entered into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and SPSS for analysis. This study used a sample size of 120 respondents at Madiga Village that were randomly selected. Analytical techniques used to analyse the data were Descriptive Statistics, Binomial Logit Model, Likert Scale and Chi-square Analysis. Firstly, the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were identified and described. From the 120 households sampled and interviewd at Madiga Village, the results revealed that 57% of the respondents were males as compared to 43% of females. The majority, constituting 58% of the respondents were unemployed, whereas 28% of the respondents in this study were full-time employed with only 14% being self-employed. The household size of the respondents was found to be on an average of 5 with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 13 members. From the Likert scale results using ten items, it was found that rabbit meat was perceived to be the easiest to cook and prepare relative to all the meat types it was compared with. Furthermore, it was perceived to be more nutritious, healthy and cheaper. However, it was found that respondents perceived it as being the difficult meat to find. Rabbit meat was also perceived as tasty compared to pork, chicken, beef and sheep (mutton) meats. To understand socio-economic characteristics affecting perception and willingness to pay, the Binomial Logit Model and Chi-square Analysis were used, respectively. The Binomial Logit results indicated that males were more likely to pay for rabbit meat if it was sold on a farm. Moreover, The results indicated that as household size increases by one, respondents would be more likely to pay for rabbit meat. Furthermore, respondents who perceived rabbit meat as better than pork and sheep meats were likely to pay for rabbit meat. Therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected as there are socio-economic characteristics and consumer perceptions that affect their willingness to pay. Rabbit farming is promising at Madiga village and farmers who would like to take an initiative in rabbit farming are encouraged to do so. The potential of this enterprise suits it to be incorporated into the livestock governmental financial budget as a new business initiatives.