Attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana · fruits and vegetables are more likely...

Attitudes towards organic fruits and

vegetables in Ghana

Number of words: 17218

Kimberly Kaki Caesar

Stamnummer: 01501099

Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. Wim Verbeke

Tutor: Dr. ir. Ellen Van Loo

Master’s Dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Rural Development - main subject

Rural Economics and Management

Academiejaar: 2016 - 2017

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COPYRIGHT

I, Kimberly Kaki Caesar declare that this Master Dissertation is a genuine original work and has not

been submitted anywhere for any reward. Due acknowledgement is given to works of authors used

throughout. “All rights reserved. The author and the promoters permit the use of this Master’s

Dissertation for consulting purposes and copying of parts for personal use. However, any other use

fall under the limitations of copyright regulations, particularly the stringent obligation to explicitly

mention the source when citing parts out of this Master’s dissertation.”

Promotor Tutor

Prof. dr. ir. Wim Verbeke Dr. ir. Ellen Van Loo

E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

……………………...................... …………………………………...

The Author

Kimberly Kaki Caesar

E-mail: [email protected]

………………….....................

mailto:[email protected]



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I will like to use this opportunity to thank the Almighty God for wisdom, strength and sustenance

throughout my two year stay in Ghent University and without whom nothing would have been

possible. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my promotor, Prof. dr. ir. Wim Verbeke and tutor Dr. ir. Ellen

Van Loo for your valuable contribution and assistance in completing my thesis. I will also like to say a

big thank you to Prof. dr. ir. Marijke D’Haese for her assistance and useful suggestions.

My profound gratitude also goes to the course co-ordinators Ir. Anne-Marie Remaut-De Winter and

Marian Mareen for their support and encouragement during my entire stay at Ghent University. I will

like to specially extend my sincerest and heartfelt appreciation particularly to Mie for her immense

support and wise counsel. You made my stay in Ghent University memorable for which I will forever

remain grateful.

My sincere appreciation also goes to the Administrative committee, Master Grants of Ghent

University for granting me a master grant scholarship. My study at this prestigious University would

not have been possible without the financial assistance.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to my family and friends and to Kwame for your undying

support and encouragement.

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ABSTRACT

Objectives of the study: There is a rapid increase in organic production worldwide as well as a

rapidly growing potential of organic markets in developing countries such as Ghana. This study sought

to determine the factors that influence the students’ attitudes and how those attitudes influence the

purchase intention of organic fruits and vegetables. Additionally, the students’ willingness-to-pay

(WTP) and their expectations with regards to organic fruits and vegetables were investigated.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study comprising 200 students from the University of Cape Coast,

Ghana between the ages of 18 and 45 were surveyed for the study. Data was collected by means of

pre-tested self-administered questionnaires using convenient sampling. Statistical analysis included

descriptive analysis, regression analysis, independent sample T-tests and one-way ANOVA F-tests.

Results: Findings from the study revealed that health consciousness and consumer knowledge are

factors that positively influence students’ attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables. On the

contrary, there was a significant but negative effect of environmental concern on attitude. There was a

positive effect of attitude on purchase intention thus students with positive attitudes towards organic

fruits and vegetables are more likely to purchase them. Further findings revealed that students on

average were willing to pay more for organic fruits and vegetables compared to conventional ones

particularly those in employment and from a well-off family background.

Conclusion: Students in Ghana have a predominantly positive attitude towards organic fruits and

vegetables. These attitudes are influenced by health and knowledge and associate with intention to buy

organic fruits and vegetables. Thus the study recommends increased dissemination of organic

knowledge at all levels of education. Insights presented with regards to students’ attitudes can also

inform policy by producers, marketers and consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana.

Keywords: Consumer Attitude, Fruits, Ghana, Organic, Survey, Vegetables

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TABLE OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................................................ i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... ii

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ iv

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. vi

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 9

1.1 General introduction ......................................................................................................... 9

1.2 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 10

1.3 Objectives of the study ................................................................................................... 11

1.3.1 General objective .................................................................................................... 11

1.3.2 Specific objectives ................................................................................................... 11

1.4 Research questions ......................................................................................................... 12

1.5 Hypothesis ...................................................................................................................... 12

1.6 Organization of the study ............................................................................................... 12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 13

2.1 Consumer attitude .......................................................................................................... 13

2.1.1 Consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables ..................................... 13

2.2 Factors that influence consumer attitude towards organic fruits and

vegetables ............................................................................................................................. 14

2.2.1 Consumer awareness and knowledge ...................................................................... 14

2.2.2 Health consciousness ............................................................................................... 16

2.2.3 Environmental concern ........................................................................................... 17

2.3 Willingness to pay .......................................................................................................... 18

2.4 Expectations towards organic fruits and vegetables....................................................... 18

2.5 Attitude influences on purchase intention of organic fruits and

vegetables ............................................................................................................................. 19

2.6 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................... 21

3.1 Description of the study area .......................................................................................... 21

3.2 Data sources ................................................................................................................... 22

3.3 Data collection ................................................................................................................ 22

3.4 Questionnaire design ...................................................................................................... 23

3.4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents .......................................... 23

3.4.2 Awareness and knowledge (objective & subjective) of organic fruits and

vegetables ......................................................................................................................... 24

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3.4.3 Consumer buying behavior ..................................................................................... 24

3.4.4 Consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables .................................... 25

3.4.5 Willingness to pay ................................................................................................... 26

3.4.6 Expectations towards organic fruits and vegetables ............................................... 26

3.5 Data analysis .................................................................................................................. 26

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ............................................................................................. 28

4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample .......................................................... 28

4.2 Awareness and knowledge of organic fruits and vegetables .......................................... 30

4.2.1 Consumption and consumer buying behavior ......................................................... 32

4.3 Belief about importance of organic fruits and vegetables in comparison

to conventional ones ............................................................................................................. 34

4.4 Willingness to pay .......................................................................................................... 35

4.4.1 Willingness to pay across different socio-demographic characteristics .................. 36

4.5 Expectations with regards to organic fruits and vegetables ........................................... 38

4.6 Correlation ...................................................................................................................... 38

4.7 Reliability ....................................................................................................................... 39

4.8 Regression analysis ........................................................................................................ 39

4.8.1 Simple and multiple linear regression results ......................................................... 39

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 42

5.1 Attitude ........................................................................................................................... 42

5.2 Consumer knowledge ..................................................................................................... 42

5.3 Health Consciousness ..................................................................................................... 42

5.4 Environmental concern .................................................................................................. 43

5.5 Purchase intention .......................................................................................................... 43

5.6 Contributions .................................................................................................................. 43

5.7 Limitations of the study .................................................................................................. 44

5.8 Multidisciplinary approach ............................................................................................ 44

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ...................................... 46

6.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 46

6.2 Recommendations and further research ......................................................................... 47

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 48

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 54

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4-1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample (n=200) ................................................... 29

Table 4-2 Awareness of organic fruits and vegetables (n=200) ............................................................ 30

Table 4-3 Respondents’ objective knowledge (n=200) ......................................................................... 31

Table 4-4 Objective knowledge measured as number of correct answers (n=200) ............................... 32

Table 4-5 Consumption and buying behavior (n=200) ......................................................................... 33

Table 4-6 WTP across socio-demographic characteristics (n=200) ...................................................... 37

Table 4-7 Correlation matrix (n=200) ................................................................................................... 38

Table 4-8 Reliability analysis (n=200) .................................................................................................. 39

Table 4-9 Results from multiple linear regression (n=200) .................................................................. 41

Table 4-10 Results from simple linear regression (n=200) .................................................................. 41

Table 6-1 Hypothesis and results summary ........................................................................................... 46

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2-1 Conceptual framework......................................................................................................... 20

Figure 3-1 Map of Ghana with the study area (Cape Coast) highlighted .............................................. 22

Figure 4-1 Source of organic knowledge (n=200)...…………………………………………………...31

Figure 4-2 Belief about importance of organic in comparison to conventional fruits & vegetables ..... 34

Figure 4-3 Willingness to pay (WTP) more for organic fruits and vegetables (n=200) ........................ 35

Figure 4-4 Willingness to pay extra for an organic pawpaw (n=200) ................................................... 36

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GLSS Ghana Living Standards Survey

GSS Ghana Statistical Service

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TPB Theory of Planned Behaviour

TRA Theory of Reasoned Action

VIF Variance Inflation Factor

WTP Willingness to pay

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General introduction

Rapid growth in development as well as increasing population rates is putting a strain on agriculture

and increasing the pressure for methods that improve yields. This has therefore led to increase in the

use of chemical fertilizers to increase food production (Basha et al., 2015).

Consumers are becoming more aware of the harmful effects of these chemicals used in food

production. Research suggests that consumers have become more concerned about the nutrition, health

and quality of food they eat (Gil, Gracia, & Sanchez, 2000). This is driving changes in the marketplace

with the introduction of more environmentally safe ways of production as well increasing the demand

for organic food products. Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils,

ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local

conditions, rather than the use of external inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines

traditional knowledge, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair

relationships and a good quality of life for all involved (IFOAM, 2004). Ghana, like many other West

African countries limit the term organic to production where synthetic pesticides and chemical

fertilizers are not used (Keraita & Drechsel, 2015).

There is growth in the demand for organic products due to consumer concerns of quality,

environmental concerns as well as safety issues of conventionally grown foods (Hoefkens et al., 2009;

Osei-Asare, 2009; Magkos et al., 2006). This issue of safety and environmental concerns has made

production and consumption of organic products a priority on the agenda of policy makers (Owusu &

Anifori, 2012). The demand is still expected to grow even though the situation varies from one country

to the other with respect to production (Vukasovič, 2016). The growth in the market for organic

products will largely depend on the demand by consumers and as such a marketing oriented approach

or concept with consumers as the focus is key, to be able to respond to the changes in the market.

Hence, a clear understanding of consumer attitudes, perceptions and the motivations that influence

behaviour towards organically grown products is important (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006).

Organic agriculture is developing rapidly with the share of organic farmed agricultural land increasing

in many countries. The organic agricultural land area at the global level increased by 6 million

hectares, an increase of 6% compared with 2012, resulting from a major increase of organic land in

Australia (Organic Farming Statistics, 2015). This reflects the expanding global organic market.

According to Sheng et al. (2009), organic food industry is continually growing in most developed

agricultural economies around the world with the total area of 30.5 million hectares and the global

total revenue of organic market has achieved 23 billion USD in 2003 and rose to 60 billion USD in

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2007 (Yang & Jie, 2008). This growth rate is expected to continue in the coming years an indication of

a potential development for this sector in the future (Sheng et al., 2009). The organic sector is also

growing in developing countries though not to the level of developed countries with the main focus of

activities on production of organic vegetables, fruits and fibre products (AdeOluwa, 2010).

In recent times, few studies have found that in developing countries, certified organic agriculture is

more beneficial than conventional agriculture, due to the higher price farmers receive for their produce

(Bolwig et al., 2009; Maertens & Swinnen, 2009). In Ghana, the land area under organic cultivation

had increased from an estimated 19,132 hectares in 2006 (IFOAM & FiBL, 2006) to 28,000 hectares

in 2013 accounting for 0.18% of the total agricultural land area (Keraita & Drechsel, 2015). Most of

the organic products in Ghana are for export with the main export commodities aside cocoa being

palm oil and fresh fruits (Keraita & Drechsel, 2015). Locally, urban and peri-urban production and

marketing of vegetables play important roles in the socio-economic development of Ghana because

they create employment, generate wealth and alleviate poverty through provision of raw materials for

local food industries in majority of the cities in the country (Nouhoheflin et al., 2004; Norman, 2007).

According to D’Monte (2011), there are major shifts worldwide in food patterns with changes toward

high value and more diversified products like fruits and vegetables, milk and meat. The change in

dietary preferences, increased awareness about health benefits of fruits and vegetables among other

factors have been driving the growth in fruits and vegetables market around the world. Evidence from

various researchers reveal that for many consumers, fruit and vegetables are their main entry point into

the organic market (Aertsens et al., 2009) and also organic fruit and vegetables make up a high

proportion of the total organic produce consumed. Norman (2007) reported a similar assertion and

suggested that a huge market potential exist for fresh organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana especially

because fruits and vegetables are consumed in nearly every home in Ghana. Osei-Asare (2009) in his

study of Ghanaian consumers reported that demand for organic products far outstripped supply and

suggested a huge potential for the organic sector in Ghana both for exports and for domestic

consumption. Also, Owusu & Anifori (2012) in their study estimated a market potential of

US$28,093,516 per annum of organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana and concluded the existence of a

huge market potential for organic products and for that matter organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana.

1.2 Problem Statement

Despite the rapid growth and huge potential for organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana (Norman,

2007), the current level of consumer consumption of organic food is still relatively low in comparison

to non-organic ones. Michaelidou & Hassan (2010) indicated that the array of organic produce

continues to increase as a result of the growing market potential. To respond effectively to the

continued growth and to benefit from the huge economic potential of the organic industry in Ghana,

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there is a need for companies and marketers to understand the level of consumer awareness,

knowledge, attitudes and willingness to pay.

Several studies have provided evidence that consumer attitudes towards organic food significantly

influence their choice (Gil, Gracia, & Sanchez, 2000; Michaelidou & Hassan, 2008; Stolz et al., 2011).

Although there are substantial consumer studies on organic products from developed economies

(Owusu & Anifori, 2012), very few studies exist on the attitudes and willingness to pay for organic

fruits and vegetables in sub-saharan countries for that matter Ghana and other developing economies

(Nouhoheflin et al., 2004; Aryal et al., 2009).

Some research studies have been carried out on the Ghanaian market potential for organic food and

consumer willingness to pay a premium for organic fruits and vegetables (Owusu & Anifori, 2012;

Nouhoheflin et al., 2004). Owusu & Anifori (2012) concluded that 71% of Ghanaian consumers in

their study, were willing to pay over 50% price premium for organic vegetables and 82% were willing

to pay up to 50% price premiums for organic fruits. The future of organic production however to a

large extent will depend on consumer demand which is influenced by attitudes among other factors.

However, there are limited studies regarding consumer attitudes in Ghana. This is especially true for

different social groups, such as students (Freyer et al., 2005). Therefore to address this gap, this study

aimed at investigating the knowledge and attitudes of students towards organic fruits and vegetables in

Ghana.

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.3.1 General objective

The main objective of this study was to investigate attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables of

university students in Ghana.

1.3.2 Specific objectives

The specific objectives of the study were:

To determine the level of consumer awareness and knowledge about organic fruits and

vegetables

To determine their attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

To identify the factors that influence their attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

To determine the relationship between their attitudes and intention to purchase organic fruits

and vegetables

To determine their willingness to pay for organic fruits and vegetables

To determine their expectations of organic fruits and vegetables

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1.4 Research questions

Following the problem statement as developed above, the research intends to answer the following

research questions below:

What are the levels of awareness and knowledge of organic fruits and vegetables among

students?

What are their attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables?

What kind of factors influence their attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables?

What is the relationship between their attitudes and purchase intention?

What are their willingness to pay for organic fruits and vegetables?

What are their expectations with regards to organic fruits and vegetables?

1.5 Hypothesis

Against this background, the following research hypothesis can be deduced from the problem

statement as well as the objective statement.

H1: There is a positive relationship between knowledge and attitude of organic fruits and

vegetables among students

H2: There is a positive relationship between health consciousness and attitude towards organic

fruits and vegetables among students

H3: There is a positive relationship between environmental concern and attitude of students

towards organic fruits and vegetables

H4: There is a positive relationship between attitudes of students and their intention to purchase

organic fruits and vegetables

1.6 Organization of the study

The first chapter is the introduction which presents the background of the study, problem statement,

objectives, research questions and ends with the hypothesis of the study.

The second chapter is a review of relevant concepts, theories and previous literature of the subject.

The chapter concludes with the development of a model and four (4) different hypotheses. This is

followed by the third chapter.

The third chapter is a presentation of the methodology which describes how the sample was selected

from the population and the methods of data analysis.

Chapter four includes a presentation of the results followed by chapter five which is the discussion of

the results.

The last chapter presents the conclusions, recommendations and future research.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is divided into six parts. The first part presents a general discussion on consumer

attitudes. This is followed by factors that could influence consumer attitudes towards organic foods.

Willingness to pay and expectations for organic fruits and vegetables are discussed. This is followed

by the relationship between attitude and purchase intention and finally a conceptual model based on

these arguments is drawn.

2.1 Consumer attitude

The term attitude is widely mentioned and used within society with varying meanings. The likes and

dislikes of individuals constitute their attitudes. Attitudes tend to influence the way people behave in a

given situation. An attitude in marketing terms is defined as a general evaluation of a product or

service formed over time and an example being hearing a loud noise over time could make one

develop a negative attitude towards the sound (Hogg et al., 2006).

Decisions that consumers make are based on their attitudes and marketers are challenged to understand

the reasons why a particular attitude might or might not exist. Marketers invest a lot in programs in

order to influence the attitudes of consumers which they often do through advertisements among

others.

Attitude, though not the only indication that specifies which consumption behavior will be in the

future, reveals the way that buyers are likely to behave in a defined situation (Chisnall, 1995).

Consumer actions stem from attitude and are linked to a complex set of ideas, motivations and

experiences (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006).

2.1.1 Consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

According to Aertsens et al. (2009) several studies reveal that beliefs about health, taste and

environmental consequences have the strongest influence on attitude towards buying organic food

products. The perception of negative long term effects of conventionally produced food on health has

led to an increased shift of consumers towards organic food alternatives with typical examples being

the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada and avian flu in poultry (Bonti-Ankomah &

Yiridoe, 2006). However, other views are that while most consumers hold positive attitudes towards

organic food the number of consumers purchasing organic food on a regular basis in comparison to

those who do not, remains low (Aertsens et al., 2009). For instance Saba & Messina (2003) revealed

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that consumers agreed that on average organic fruits and vegetables were healthy, environmentally

friendly, and more tasty and nutritious than conventionally grown foods.

According to Stobbelaar et al. (2007) attitudes of environmental friendliness, animal welfare and

personal health are important for adolescents with respect to organic food. Thøgersen (2007) reports

that attitude has been regarded as a key predictor towards intention of consuming organic food such as

fruits and vegetables. To be able to serve the needs of consumers, an understanding of the perception

and attitudes of consumers are important.

2.2 Factors that influence consumer attitude towards organic fruits and

vegetables

There are numerous factors that have been found to have an influence on attitudes towards organic

food. Also several studies exists on the factors such as health, environmental impact among others that

influence consumer attitudes towards organic food products (Vega-Zamora et al., 2013; Shafie &

Rennie, 2012). Based on a review of previous studies, this section is a discussion of factors likely to

influence attitudes and hypothesis drawn from each concept.

2.2.1 Consumer awareness and knowledge

Consumers make decisions on a daily basis. These decisions could be either at an individual or group

level. However, it is the sole prerogative or responsibility of those individuals to make those decisions.

Consumer awareness and knowledge come to play for well informed choices to be made. Consumer

knowledge can be categorized into subjective knowledge, objective knowledge and prior experience

(Brucks, 1985). Subjective knowledge refers to what individuals perceive they know which

incorporates one’s degree of confidence in his or her knowledge while objective knowledge refers to

what one actually knows (Brucks, 1985). Prior experience stems from what a consumer has

experienced before.

The role of knowledge and awareness for the development of the organic food market cannot be

underestimated. There are several direct and indirect costs that knowledge and awareness has on the

attitudes of consumers towards products and consequently their willingness to pay a premium price

(Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006). Because organic products are credence goods, consumers may

have a difficulty in trying to decipher if a product is produced using organic or conventional methods,

not even after repeated purchase and consumption, unless they are told so (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe,

2006). Therefore, consumer knowledge and awareness of organically produced foods are important in

their purchase decisions. This is because, if someone is unable to clearly tell the difference between

substitute products, the person might end up paying a higher price for a cheaper product instead of the

organic one as a result of the difficulty in differentiating both products.

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Various studies on consumer awareness and knowledge about organic foods show that although

consumer awareness exists generally across countries, there still are inconsistent interpretations of the

meaning of organic. Jolly et al. (1989) found in a survey among California consumers that the term

organic was associated with no artificial fertilizer, absence of residue, no pesticides and no growth

regulators. Among UK respondents, organic food was described as natural and healthy in comparison

to conventional ones with no difference in the understanding of organic among organic and non-

organic food buyers (Hill & Lynchehaun, 2002).

According to Gracia & de Magistris (2007), information on organic products is an important factor

clearly aiding the consumers to differentiate the attributes of organic products from those of the

conventional ones, and to form positive attitudes and quality perceptions towards these products.

Several studies reveal that lack of awareness and low knowledge prevent most consumers from buying

organic food hence knowledge and awareness of organic products, can affect attitudes and perceptions

towards the product and consequently, buying decisions (Vukasovic, 2013). Several researchers have

also confirmed that greater awareness and additional knowledge of organic food positively influence

attitudes towards organic food and levels of consumption (Aertsens et al., 2009). Stobbelaar et al.

(2007) also found that higher levels of education are positively related to higher levels of knowledge

with regard to organic food.

However, not all studies have identified a positive relationship between knowledge and organic food

consumption. Gotschi et al. (2007) measured (objective) knowledge of organic products and labels of

Austrian high school students as to which characteristics relate to organic products but no significant

relationship with attitudes and behaviour was found. In addition, knowledge and awareness may not

necessarily translate into direct purchase due to the existence of barriers that limit the ability of

consumers to transform such knowledge and perceived demand into actual demand or purchases. This

is partly explained by skepticism of consumers especially in Western industrialized countries about

organic labels (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006). Hence consumer awareness and knowledge will

continue to be important for two reasons.

Firstly because there still exists a segment of the potential market that is not yet informed about

organic foods confirmed by the study of Demeritt (2002) in US which reported lack of awareness and

knowledge as the number one reason why consumers do not buy organic food with 59% of the

respondents indicating that they never considered organic products because they did not know about

them.

Secondly, there is a possibility the latter may have general knowledge about them but do not have

detailed information to differentiate clearly the unique attributes of organic from conventionally grown

ones. If the issues of skepticism among other reasons mentioned above are dealt with, perceptions

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about the inherent characteristics of organic may translate into increased actual demand (Bonti-

Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006).

Based on these arguments, hypothesis one is developed.

H1: There is a positive relationship between knowledge and attitude towards organic fruits

and vegetables among students

2.2.2 Health consciousness

Health consciousness simply describes consumers who are aware, concerned about their health and as

such are motivated to improve and maintain their wellbeing to prevent ill health by engaging in

healthy behaviours (Newsom et al. 2005; Kraft & Goodell, 1993). Those individuals tend to be aware

of and involved with nutrition and physical fitness (Kraft & Goodell, 1993).

Extensive research has been carried to determine the factors that affect or influence attitudes towards

buying organic food with several of them indicating health as a major motive for the choice of organic

food (Padel & Foster, 2005; Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006; Aertsens et al., 2009). This is

particularly the case for organic fruits and vegetables since they are perceived as healthier compared to

the conventional ones.

An exploratory study by Lockie et al. (2002) found health to be a strong motivator for buying organic

food among Australian consumers. Evidence from the focus groups and laddering interviews revealed

assumed health value, social aspects and health consciousness as main motives for organic food

purchase. Personal health, quality of life and wellbeing were found as the strongest links in the main

ladders. In addition it has been found that health is a strong predictor of attitude and purchase of

organic food especially since consumers of organic food know that food intake affects their health

hence are willing to make changes in foods to improve their health (Schifferstein & Ophuis, 1998).

Chen (2007) also mentioned that there is a positive relationship between health consciousness and

attitude towards purchasing organic food.

However, the result of Tarkiainen & Sundqvist’s (2005) study though showed a positive result

indicated that the relationship between health consciousness and attitudes towards buying organic food

was not significant. They indicated that health consciousness does not explain general attitudes

towards organic food when organic bread and flour were examined. They stated however that the

result might be different if different organic food products were studied. In accordance with findings

by Tarkiainen & Sundqvist (2005), a study by Michaelidou & Hassan (2008) revealed health

consciousness to be the least important motive shaping attitudes towards organic produce in

comparison to ethical self-identity and food safety concern.

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Though there are controversies whether organic is more nutritious than conventional ones, some

studies have found that there is a belief by consumers that organic food is indeed more nutritious (Lea

& Worsely, 2005).

With these divergent views on the influence of health consciousness on attitude towards organic food,

hypothesis two is developed.

H2: There is a positive relationship between health consciousness and attitude towards

organic fruits and vegetables among students

2.2.3 Environmental concern

Rising concerns about the environment is noted as one of the main factors towards purchasing any

product including organic fruits and vegetables (Thøgersen, 2007; Saba & Messina, 2003). Values of

respect, protection, sustainability and production in harmony with nature are known to be causing the

environmental attitude (Zanoli & Naspetti, 2002).

It is inferred that because consumers are becoming more concerned about the environment, they are

willing to contribute to protect it in any way possible including buying organic food products.

Consumer environmental consciousness makes them have a positive attitude towards buying organic

food (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Chen, 2009) because organic food cultivation takes into account

environmental aspects such as the use of organic compost and manure fertilizer while discouraging the

excessive use of synthetic pesticides among others. This minimizes the negative effects on the

environment. Zanoli & Naspetti, (2002) noted that when different product groups were considered,

environmental concerns were strongly expressed in consuming fruits and vegetables while with other

products like dairy, environmental concern was mentioned as a second motive after health or animal

welfare.

Stobbelaar et al. (2007) stated that adolescents value environmental friendliness as an attribute when

considering organic foods. A study by Wier & Calverley (2002) also revealed that younger people

prefer organic food especially due to the environmentally friendly production methods that are

employed. Consumers that are highly involved in organic and environmentally friendly related issues

tend to have positive attitude towards organic food and have stronger intention to purchase (Vermeir

& Verbeke, 2006). Many studies conducted across different countries and cultures about consumer

attitudes towards organic food have found that organic is seen as healthier, better tasting and more

environmentally friendly than conventional ones.

However, though people may have a positive attitude, they are largely passive in their role as

consumer when it comes to supporting environmental or animal welfare improvements with their

available budget (Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006). It is therefore argued that even though consumers have


18

positive attitude towards organic food, the number of consumers who regularly purchase organic food

is still relatively low (Aertsens et al., 2009).

Based on the above, hypothesis three is developed.

H3: There is a positive relationship between environmental concern and attitude of students


2.3 Willingness to pay

Willingness to pay (WTP) for an organic product measures the additional price a consumer will pay

for an organic product above the price that is asked for a comparable conventional product (Kalogeras

et al., 2009). These excess prices that are above the fair price that is justified by the true value of the

product (Rao & Bergen, 1992; Vlosky et al., 1999), may serve as indicators of demand for that product

(Tse, 2001). Across the world, the relationship between price premiums of organic products and

consumer’s willingness to pay is vital for the launch of organic products to the market (Kyriakopoulos

& Oude Ophuis, 1997).

Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate consumers’ willingness to pay for organic

products. Gil et al. (2000) found higher willingness to pay premiums for organic fruits and vegetables

among Spanish consumers. Another study revealed that 52% of the German consumers in their sample

were willing to pay more for organic fruits and vegetables a percentage higher than that for animal and

grain products (Meier-Ploeger & Woodward, 1999).

Nouhoheflin et al. (2004) also assessed consumers’ perceptions and willingness to pay for organic

vegetable in Benin and Ghana and discovered a willingness to pay of more than 50% price premium

for chemical free vegetables. According to Osei-Asare (2009), 56% of Ghanaian consumers accepted

to pay a premium of 20% maximum for organic products. A study by Owusu & Anifori (2012)

revealed that 71% of Ghanaian consumers in their study were willing to pay over 50% price premium

for organic vegetables and 82% were willing to pay 1%-50% price premiums for organic fruits. The

above shows that WTP varies across countries and this is probably due to differences in samples,

market conditions among others. If strategies are to be designed to target future generations, their

willingness to pay for organic products including fruits and vegetables are of great interest.

2.4 Expectations towards organic fruits and vegetables

There are limited studies that closely examine consumer expectations of product quality

(Schleenbecker et al., 2013). A study by Stolz et al. (2009) focused on consumer expectations for

product characteristics of organic yogurt, milk and apples indicating that consumers do have


19

expectations with regards to organic food. Identifying consumers’ expectations with regard to organic

products is therefore of great importance.

2.5 Attitude influences on purchase intention of organic fruits and

vegetables A person’s attitude towards a product or item is important in determining an intention to or not to

purchase an item (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). The theory of planned behavior has been used by many

studies to model organic food choice and attitude has been indicated as a significant predictor of

purchase intention (Chen, 2007; Saba & Messina, 2003; Gracia & de Magistris, 2007).

Preliminary studies have found that consumer intention to purchase organic food is normally as a

result of their positive attitudes towards organic food. The more positive the consumer attitude, the

stronger the intention to do such a behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). The most common positive attitudes

towards buying organic food is the belief that organic food is healthier, better for the environment and

of better taste (Dean et al., 2008; Chen, 2007; Thøgersen, 2007). A study by Saba & Messina (2003)

found attitude to be a significant predictor of intention of eating organic fruits and vegetables. Also

Tarkiainen & Sundqvist (2005) found a positive and significant relationship between attitude towards

buying organic food and purchase intention. Based on the above discussion, hypothesis four is

generated.

H4: There is a positive relationship between attitudes of students and their intention to

purchase organic fruits and vegetables

The above review of literature shows the inconclusive or mixed findings in the field of organic

research thus this study will add to literature or advance knowledge on attitudes towards organic fruits

and vegetables particularly in Ghana.

2.6 Conceptual framework

In organic food research, many studies are more explanatory than theoretical in trying to explain the

consumer decision making-process with studies by Tsakiridou et al. (2008), Essoussi & Zahaf (2008)

as examples. Although very few theoretical frameworks have been used in studying organic food

consumption, the most common ones that have being used by researchers (Chen, 2007; Zagata, 2012;

Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005) are attitude-behaviour models such as the Theory of Reasoned Action

(TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). However, several extensions and refinements of

these theories have been suggested (Nejad et al., 2004; Conner & Armitage, 1998). A core assumption

of the TRA and TPB is that people are rational in making decisions therefore cognitive approaches can

be used in predicting behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

20

Purchase intention of a product can be considered as the best predictor of actual behavior (Ajzen,

1991). Attitude determines final decisions in the consumer buying behavior (Basha et al., 2015). The

inclination to react to an object in a particular way is learned, indicating that attitudes are affected by

variable factors that cause the learning to take place before the formation of attitudes. People learn to

like objects and or to acquire unfavourable attributes towards objects (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980).

Based on evidences of preliminary studies and on the importance of attitude in the consumer buying

decision, a conceptual framework is developed. The proposed model believes that consumer attitude

towards purchasing organic fruits and vegetables are strongly influenced by three variables namely

knowledge, health and environmental consciousness. The model shown in Figure 2-1 therefore

illustrates the influence of the different factors on consumer attitude and the link between attitude and

purchase intention towards organic fruits and vegetables.

Figure 2-1 Conceptual framework

Consumer

knowledge

Health

consciousness

Environmental

concern

H4 H2

H3

Attitude Purchase

intention

H1

21

CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This chapter is presented in five sections. Section 3.1 gives a description of the study area, section 3.2

gives the data sources, section 3.3 presents data collection, section 3.4 shows the questionnaire design

and finally section 3.5 the data analysis.

3.1 Description of the study area

Ghana is one of the lower middle income West African countries and according to the 2010 population

census, home to a population of 24.66 million.

The Ghanaian population in general is young with 40.4% of the population below 15 years, 54.3% are

aged 15 to 64 years and 5.3% are 65years or older1. Ghana is regarded as an agrarian economy largely

due to the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generally, labour absorption and to

foreign exchange earnings. In 2013, the agricultural sector contributed (22.0%) to the total value of

goods and services produced in the country (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014). In Ghana, Agriculture is

predominantly on a small holder basis and the main system of farming is traditional with production

varying with the amount and distribution of rainfall. The principal agricultural exports from Ghana

include cocoa, timber, horticultural products, fish, sea foods, game & wildlife.

Ghana has ten administrative regions. This study was carried out in the University of Cape Coast

located in the Central Region which is one of the regions. The region is famous for its many higher

education institutes and tourism purposes. The University of Cape Coast is one of the major public

universities in Ghana providing quality education to students. The University offers several

programmes at the certificate, diploma, bachelors, master and postgraduate level. Figure 3-1 below

indicates the map of Ghana with the Central Region highlighted.

1 http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/glss5_report.pdf Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS)

http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/glss5_report.pdf

22

Figure 3-1 Map of Ghana with the study area (Cape Coast) highlighted2

3.2 Data sources

Primary data sources were used which refers to data collected originally by researchers primarily with

the purpose of solving a certain problem. It is suitable for studies which require up-to-date information

to answer specific research questions (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Primary data was obtained via surveys

and included specifically tailored research questions.

3.3 Data collection

Business research is classified into qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative approach seeks

to gain a deep understanding of a phenomena and provides insights that lays the foundation for further

quantitative study (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Quantitative approaches on the other hand, are deductive

and emphasizes quantification in gathering and analyzing data. Quantitative approaches aim at

generalizing findings to a population (Creswell, 2009).

2www.wikipedia.org

23

Surveys, structured interviews, structured observations and content analysis are applicable to conduct

a quantitative study (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Survey is a quantitative method in which a questionnaire

is designed to collect standardized data by accessing to a representative sample of certain population

for further generalization. This method is advantageous for collecting data within limited time and

costs (Bryman & Bell, 2007).

A quantitative approach was used for this study because of the reasons stated above as well as the

large sample size. In addition, the research was to test hypotheses derived from the conceptual

framework (Figure 2-1).

The data was collected via a cross-sectional survey in Ghana using a designed questionnaire. The

questionnaire was pretested using five (5) students from the University of Ghana, Legon and this

ensured clarity of the questions and the needed corrections were made where necessary.

A convenient sampling technique was used to select a sample of 200 students from the University of

Cape Coast, Ghana. The rationale of the study was explained to the respondents and their verbal

consent was sought before questionnaires were handed out. Questionnaires were collected after they

were completed. Out of 213 questionnaires that were returned, 13 had several missings, resulting in a

final sample of 200 respondents.

3.4 Questionnaire design

The questionnaire (Appendix 1) is made up of several parts which include:

Part A shows the respondents’ demographic characteristics.

Part B contains information about the respondents’ awareness, objective and subjective

knowledge of organic fruits and vegetables.

It also contains information about consumer buying behaviour.

Part C shows attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

It also includes information on consumer willingness to pay and expectations of organic fruits

and vegetables. A detailed description of the various parts are presented below.

3.4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents

With respect to socio-demographic factors, respondents were asked questions about their gender, age,

level of study, programme of study, marital status, nationality, employment status, financial situation

of their families and the person responsible for shopping for the household (Appendix 1).

24

3.4.2 Awareness and knowledge (objective & subjective) of organic fruits and

vegetables

Respondents’ awareness of organic fruits and vegetables were solicited by asking if they had ever

heard of the term organic produce with a nominal scale ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as the measurement.

Respondents’ source of knowledge was collected by asking them what their source of knowledge was

with options (school, friends, home, internet, other media) for them to select from.

To evaluate the objective knowledge, four statements with a true or false scale were used (Park et al.,

1994; Pieniak et al., 2010). All the four statements were false and they are: “organic farmers may use

synthetic fertilizers”, “organic farmers may use genetically modified seeds”, “organic vegetables may

be irradiated to improve conservation”, “organic farmers may use synthetic pesticides”. The option of

“do not know” was not provided as a way to make the respondents think and reflect and make their

choice about those statements. The true or false scale was further recoded with “0” as incorrect and

“1” correct response. The final objective knowledge measure was obtained as a computation of the

total number of correct responses with a range from 0 to 4.

The subjective knowledge was measured by using three items adapted from Pieniak et al. (2010): (1)

“Compared with an average person, I know a lot about organic fruits and vegetables” (2) I know a lot

about how to estimate the quality of organic fruits and vegetables” and (3) “People who know me

consider me an expert in the field of organic fruits and vegetables”. These statements were answered

on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5). The average

across the three items in the scale was computed as subjective knowledge.

3.4.3 Consumer buying behavior

Information sought from respondents with respect to buying behavior included frequency of eating

and buying fruits and vegetables, place of purchase and purchase intention. To investigate the eating

behavior of respondents, they were first asked if they consume organic fruits and vegetables with

“yes” or “no” as measurement.

Next respondents were asked how frequently they eat organic fruits and vegetables and the answers

were recorded on a 4-point scale ranging from “never”, “seldom”, “often” and “nearly always”. The

consumption variable was recoded with “never=1”, “seldom = 2”, “often=3”, “nearly always =4”.

Respondents’ frequency of buying organic fruits and vegetables was identified by asking the question

“On 10 times that you buy the following food item, how often do you choose one that is organic?” An

11-point scale ranging from 0 to 10 was used (Pieniak et al., 2010). Further recoding was done and

three categories were used. Respondents answering 0 or 1 were considered as “non-buyers”, 2 to 6

were “occasional buyers” and 7 to 10 were classified as “ habitual buyers” (Van Loo et al., 2013).

25

Fourthly, information on the place of purchase of organic fruits and vegetables was collected by

asking respondents to choose from the given options (supermarket, farm/garden, market, street side)

where they usually shop from.

Lastly, the purchase intention was measured. Respondents were asked in two separate questions how

likely it is that they “plan” or “desire” to purchase organic fruits and vegetables. A 5-point scale was

used for measurement ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5).

3.4.4 Consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

For this part of the questionnaire, most of the questions were measured using a 5-point scale. To

determine attitudes of respondents towards organic fruits and vegetables, three separate questions

adapted from Tarkiainen & Sundqvist (2005) were used. (1) “I think it is good to buy organic fruits

and vegetables” (2) “I think it is important to buy organic fruits and vegetables” (3)” I think it is wise

to buy organic fruits and vegetables”.

3.4.4.1 Factors that influence attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

Several factors influence attitudes towards organic produce. To collect information about factors

influencing attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables, respondents were asked to indicate their

opinion on a number of statements (Appendix 1). A 5-point Likert scale with “1= much worse,

“2=worse”, “3=same”, “4=better”, “5=much better” was used as measurement for all the factors.

These statements were adapted from several studies. Below are the factors and corresponding studies

from which adaptation was made.

Health consciousness - Aertsens et al. (2009); Kutnohorská &Tomšík (2013); Tarkiainen &

Sundqvist (2005)

Environmental concern - Wandel & Bugge (1997); Chen (2007); Dean et al. (2008);

Tsakiridou, et al. (2008)

Consumer knowledge - Schaefer (1997)

Price - Tarkiainen & Sundqvist (2005)

Trust - Dickieson & Wiertz (2009)

Product related characteristics - Verbeke et al. (2009); Dickieson & Wiertz (2009)

3.4.4.2 Belief

Respondents were asked to evaluate some criteria when comparing organic fruits and vegetables with

conventional ones. This was adapted from the studies of Hoogland et al. (2007) and Vanhonacker &

Verbeke (2009). The criteria that they had to evaluate were “healthiness, taste, price, safety,

26

environmental friendliness, quality, availability and proximity”. A 5-point scale was used with

“1=much worse”, “2= worse” “3=same”, “4=better”, “5=much better”.

3.4.5 Willingness to pay

To determine consumer willingness to pay, respondents were first asked if they will be willing to pay

more for organic fruits and vegetables. A measurement scale “yes” and “no” was given.

Secondly, they were given a hypothetical scenario “assume a normal fruit and vegetable eg: pawpaw

costs GH₵2. How much are you willing to pay extra for an organic pawpaw?” The range of prices

given to the respondents included “0.00”, “0.10-0.50”, “0.60-1.00”, “1.00-1.50”, “1.60-2.00”, “2.00 &

above”. 3

3.4.6 Expectations towards organic fruits and vegetables

With respect to expectations towards organic fruits and vegetables, respondents were asked two

separate questions to determine their expectations. (1) “Organic fruits and vegetables must bear an

organic label” (2) “Consumers need more education to help them decipher between organic and

conventional ones”. A 5-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5) was

used as measurement for these questions.

3.5 Data analysis

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20) software was used for performing

all statistical analyses. Results were considered significant at p-values < 0.05. Frequency and

descriptive analysis were used to show the percentages and mean values of items which allowed

summarizing of the data, further comparison and description of results such as demographic

information obtained from the study. Prior to performing the regression analysis, reliability analysis

were performed for several concepts. Reliability analysis are used in determining how reliable and

consistent concept measures are. Cronbach’s alpha is an effective way of checking the internal

reliability (Bryman & Bell, 2007) and is a score between 0 and 1. A Cronbach’s alpha above 0.6 is

often accepted hence questions or items are more reliable if the score is higher (Flynn et al., 1994).

However, if the Cronbach’s alpha is less than 0.6, items with the lowest item-total-correlation and/or

alpha if item deleted are removed until the score is greater than 0.6. Correlation analysis helps to

establish if there exists an association between continuous variables. Correlation is measured by the

value of the Pearson r coefficient. The correlation coefficient ranges from -1 to +1 and determines the

strength and the direction of the association. The value of -1 indicates a perfect negative relationship

and +1 indicates a perfect positive relationship. Hence, the higher the correlation, the more similar the

3 (€1 = GH₵4.79, GH₵2= €0.42)

27

variables (Bryman & Bell, 2007). On the other hand, a value of 0 indicates that there is no relationship

(Sarstedt & Mooi, 2014).

Regression analysis was used for the main analysis to determine factors that influence attitudes

towards organic fruits and vegetables as well as the influence of attitude towards intention to purchase

organic fruits and vegetables. Next, independent sample T-test was used to ascertain the mean

difference of some categorical variables such as nationality and gender. One-way ANOVA F-test was

also performed to test the difference in WTP means across different socio-demographic groups (with

more than two categories). In addition, the Dunnett’s T3 and Scheffe post hoc tests were used. Results

from the Scheffe’s post hoc test were used if the p-value of the Levene’s test (homogeneity of variance

test) was equal or greater than 0.05 hence the null hypothesis of equal variances assumed was

accepted. On the other hand, the Dunnett’s T3 test was employed if the p-value generated by the

Levene’s test was less than 0.05.

28

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

This chapter includes a presentation of the results of the study and the interpretation of the main

findings of the study. Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents are presented followed by

the main findings.

4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample

The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample are presented in this section. As shown in Table

4-1, out of the total of 200 respondents that were randomly sampled, 87 of the respondents (43.5%)

were males and the majority 113 respondents (56.5%) were females.

Five age categories were identified within the sample. Approximately 22% of the respondents were

between the ages of 18 and 24, 18% were between 25 and 30 years, 10.5% were between the ages of

31 and 35 years. The remaining two categories together constituted 49.5% and they were between the

ages of 36 and 45 years. The sample shows majority of the respondents being Generation Y (Sullivan

& Heitmeyer, 2008) since together 50.5% of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 35

years. Second year students made up the majority of respondents (35.0%) and the largest proportion

(37.0%) were offering Bachelor of Education programs (B. Education).

Table 4-1 shows the marital status of the respondents. About 98.0% of the respondents were single and

2% were married. Next the nationality of the respondents were determined and 199 (99.5%) of the

respondents were Ghanaians and only one was non-Ghanaian. With respect to employment status, the

majority of the respondents (69.5%) were unemployed and 30.5% were employed (full-time 23.5%

and part-time 7.0%). This is expected because most degree programs are often on a full time basis as

such those in full time employment are probably postgraduate students, those with paid study leave

typically employed by the Government of Ghana or on sandwich programs. Out of the three categories

provided to estimate the financial situation of the family of respondents, 11.5% were in a difficult

financial situation, 53.5% were average and 35.0% were well off. Also, only 4.0% of the respondents

were mainly responsible for grocery shopping of the household with 30.5% responsible together with

someone else. The majority (65.5%) of respondents grocery shopping was the responsibility of another

person.

29

Table 4-1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample (n=200)

Characteristics Frequency Percentage (%)

Total 200 100

Gender

Male 87 43.5

Female 113 56.5

Age

18-24 44 22.0

25-30 36 18.0

31-35 21 10.5

36-40 50 25.0

41-45 49 24.5

Level/Year of study

First 57 28.5

Second 70 35.0

Third 45 22.5

Fourth 21 10.5

Others 7 3.5

Program of study

B.Education 74 37.0

B.Com 34 17.0

B.Arts 35 17.5

B.Science 57 28.5

Marital status

Single 196 98.0

Married 4 2.0

Nationality

Ghanaian 199 99.5

Others 1 0.5

Employment status

Employed 61 30.5

Unemployed 139 69.5

Financial status

Difficult 23 11.5

Average 107 53.5

Well-off 70 35.0

Person responsible for shopping

I am main person responsible 8 4.0

I am responsible with someone else 61 30.5

Another person is responsible 131 65.5

30

4.2 Awareness and knowledge of organic fruits and vegetables

Consumer awareness and knowledge of organic fruits and vegetables were determined firstly by

asking if they had heard of the term organic produce and respondents answered “yes” or “no”.

Approximately 90.0% of the respondents answered in the affirmative and 10.0% responded that they

had never heard of the term organic produce (Table 4-2). Most students who answered in the

affirmative were B. Education students followed by Bachelor of Science (B. Science) students. This

result is not surprisingly because these group of students are likely to have come in contact with the

term through one or more courses undertaken in such programs. An example could be agricultural or

integrated science which is a core subject most students follow in these programs. Secondly,

respondents were then asked of their source of organic produce knowledge. Figure 4-1 shows that

majority of the students (52.0%) indicated they obtained the knowledge from school with home and

friends being the least source from which knowledge about organic was acquired. This is consistent

with the study of Osei et al. (2013) who also found school as the main source through which

knowledge of organic produce and agriculture was acquired in Ghana.

Table 4-2 Awareness of organic fruits and vegetables (n=200)

Have you ever heard of the term organic produce?

Factor Yes No Total

Total 180 20 200

Gender 90% 10% 100%

Male 77 10 87

Female 103 10 113

Age

18-24 41 3 44

25-30 33 3 36

31-35 19 2 21

36-40 41 9 50

41-45 46 3 49

Level of study

First 52 5 57

Second 62 8 70

Third 40 5 45

Fourth 19 2 21

Others 7 0 7

Program of study

B.Education 65 9 74

B.Com 32 2 34

B.Arts 32 3 35

B.Science 51 6 57

31

Figure 4-1 Source of organic knowledge (n=200)

To determine respondents’ subjective knowledge, the average across three items were computed

(Appendix 1). The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.764 indicative of consistency between the three items. The

average across respondents was 3.3 out of 5. Thus deduced that respondents perceived they knew

enough about organic produce.

To determine the objective knowledge of students, four items were used for which respondents had to

indicate “true” or “false”. The percentage of correct and wrong answers for the four items are shown

below (Table 4-3). Less than half of the students (31.5%) answered correctly to the first item in Table

4-3. With respect to the second item, only 25.5% answered correctly. For the last two items in Table 4-

3, not more than 31.0% of the respondents were able to answer correctly to those items.

Table 4-3 Respondents' objective knowledge (n=200)

Statements Correct Correct Wrong

answer response response

(%) (%)

Organic farmers may use synthetic pesticides False 31.5 68.5

Organic farmers may use synthetic fertilizers False 25.5 74.5

Organic farmers may use genetically modified seeds False 29.0 71.0

Organic vegetables may be irradiated to improve conservation False 31.0 69.0

52%

18%

5%

16%

9%

32

Table 4-4 shows the frequency and percentage of respondents with respect to their objective

knowledge and reflects how respondents answered correctly on all four questions combined. Majority

of the respondents (43.0%) were unable to answer correctly to any of the questions while 18%

answered correctly to only one question. On the other hand, 5.5% managed to answer correctly all four

questions while two to three questions were answered correctly by 33.5% of the students. This means

that within the sample, only 15.5% of the respondents had adequate objective knowledge (equal and

beyond three correct answers) of organic production. This also implies that majority of the

respondents were not familiar with the statements or items.

Table 4-4 Objective knowledge measured as number of correct answers (n=200)

Number of correct answers Frequency Percentage (%)

0 86 43.0

1 36 18.0

2 47 23.5

3 20 10.0

4 11 5.5

From the results above it can be deduced that although the students perceived to know a lot about

organic produce, their objective/actual knowledge was relatively low.

4.2.1 Consumption and consumer buying behavior

Information on buying behavior included consumption, frequency of purchase, place of purchase and

purchase intention of organic fruits and vegetables. Respondents were asked if they consume organic

fruits and vegetables and 93.0% answered yes and 7.0% stated they do not consume organic fruits and

vegetables. The percentage of students who claim to consume organic is quite high. Although the

reason is not known it could probably be due to the fact that they do not really know what organic

means evident in their objective knowledge.

The frequency with which respondents eat organic fruits and vegetables were obtained by asking them

to indicate on a four point scale. With respect to fruits, 57.5% of the respondents indicated they

consume fruits and 2.0% stated that they never consume fruits at all. For vegetables, all respondents

consumed them with 60.5% of the respondents consuming vegetables often. As shown Table 4-5, in

general, vegetables were consumed more by respondents than fruits.

With the frequency of buying fruits and vegetables, 8% of respondents were identified as non-buyers

of vegetables (8.5% non-buyers of fruits) whereas 63.5% were occasional vegetable buyers (76.5% for

fruits) and 28.5% were habitual vegetable buyers (15% for fruits). Contrary to the study by Padel &

Foster (2005) who stated supermarket as the primary place of organic food purchases, most of the

33

respondents (73%) in this study stated that they normally purchase organic fruits and vegetables from

the market. This result is expected because in Ghana like most developing countries, although

supermarkets are springing up rapidly, they are not the main source of buying fresh food items

particularly fruits and vegetables which happens to be the reverse in developed countries. Most fruits

and vegetables are often sold fresh on the open market in Ghana.

Table 4-5 Consumption and buying behavior (n=200)

Frequency Percentage

Do you consume organic fruits and vegetables?

Yes 186 93.0

No 14 7.0

How often do you eat the following products?

Fruits

Never 4 2.0

Seldom 48 24.0

Often 115 57.5

Nearly always 33 16.5

Vegetables

Never 0 0

Seldom 31 15.5

Often 121 60.5

Nearly always 48 24.0

Frequency of purchase

Fruits

Non-buyers 17 8.5

Occasional buyers 153 76.5

Habitual buyers 30 15.0

Vegetables

Non-buyers 16 8.0

Occasional buyers 127 63.5

Habitual buyers 57 28.5

Place of purchase

Supermarket 15 7.5

Farm/garden 18 9.0

Market 146 73.0

Street side 19 9.5

Others 2 1.0

34

4.3 Belief about importance of organic fruits and vegetables in comparison

to conventional ones In comparison to conventional fruits and vegetables, respondents evaluate organic produce more

highly on various criteria including healthiness, taste, price, safety, environmental friendliness,

quality, availability and proximity (Figure 4-2). Healthiness, quality and taste of organic fruits and

vegetables was highly valued by consumers. This is in line with previous studies that point to health

and food safety as essential drivers for purchasing organic food (Padel & Foster, 2005; Bonti-

Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006; Van Loo et al., 2013). Similarly, previous studies have showed that

organic food products are perceived to have better taste compared with conventional ones (Lockie et

al., 2002; Van Loo et al., 2010). Safety and environmental friendliness was also noted as quite

important with respect to perception of difference between organic and conventional produce which is

similarly confirmed by other studies (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006; Gracia & de Magistris, 2007).

However, the price, proximity and availability of organic fruits and vegetables were valued less

compared to conventional ones and have been reported in other studies as barriers to organic food

purchases (Hughner et al., 2007; Van Loo et al., 2010). This is particularly the case especially in

developing countries where demand is perfectly elastic for most food products.

Figure 4-2 Belief about importance of organic in comparison to conventional fruits & vegetables

(A 5-point scale “1=much worse”, to “5=much better”) (n=200)

35

4.4 Willingness to pay

The study assessed respondents’ willingness to pay for organic fruits and vegetables and the results are

presented below.

Figure 4-3 Willingness to pay (WTP) more for organic fruits and vegetables (n=200)

Several studies have reported price as one major barrier to organic food purchases (Hughner et al.,

2007; Van Loo et al., 2010). In this study, respondents were asked if they would be willing to pay

more for organic fruits and vegetables and majority of the respondents (88.0%) answered in the

affirmative that they were willing to pay more for organic fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, respondents were asked a hypothetical question to elicit how much more they were

willing to pay for organic fruits and vegetables assuming a conventional pawpaw cost GH₵2. Figure

4-3 shows the percentage of respondents for each category of willingness to pay. While 10.0% of the

respondents stated that they were not willing to pay anything higher than the market price, 16 percent,

19 percent, 26 percent, 14 percent and 15 percent of the students were willing to pay 0.10-0.50, 0.60-

1.00, 1.10-1.50, 1.60-2.00 and > 2.00 respectively in addition to the market price of a conventional

pawpaw. Respondents willing to pay between 1.10-1.50 formed the majority. This shows that 90% of

the students were in one way or the other willing to pay more for an organic produce which is

confirmed by several studies (Osei-Asare, 2009; Owusu & Anifori, 2012).

36

Figure 4-4 Willingness to pay extra for an organic pawpaw (n=200)

4.4.1 Willingness to pay across different socio-demographic characteristics

T-test and one-way ANOVA test were performed to find the difference in means of respondents’

willingness to pay. It was revealed that gender (t-test p=0.260) and nationality (t-test p=0.802) had

statistically similar means that is, the differences in their means were not statistically significant.

Additionally, age, level of study, programme of study and marital status also had no statistical effect

on the WTP means (one-way ANOVA F test, p= 0.076, 0.846, 0.577 and 0.880 respectively).

In contrast, both employment status and family financial status showed significant differences in

means when classified over WTP. The differences were all significant at 1 per cent level. As shown in

Table 4-6, with respect to employment status, respondents in any form of employment (part-time and

full-time) were willing to pay extra for organic fruit compared to unemployed respondents. Likewise

respondents whose family were well-off were willing to pay more than those whose family were in an

average or difficult situation with respect to finances.

GH₵

37

Table 4-6 WTP across socio-demographic characteristics (n=200)

Items Means F P

Age

18-24 4.02a 2.151 > 0.05

25-30 3.50a

31-35 3.38a

36-40 3.84a

41-45 3.20a

Level of study

100 3.46e 0.348 > 0.05

200 3.59e

300 3.78e

400 3.71e

Others 3.86e

Programme of study

B.Education 3.55f 0.662 > 0.05

B.Com 3.41f

B.Arts 3.57f

B.Science 3.84f

Marital status

Married 3.50b 0.023 > 0.05

Single 3.62b

Employment

Unemployed 1.19e 119.84 < 0.001

Full-time 5.38f

Part-time 5.21g

Family financial status

Well-off 4.69a 36.136 < 0.001

Difficult 3.30b

Average 2.98c

a, b, c indicate significantly different means using Scheffe Post Hoc;

e, f, g indicate significantly different means using Dunnett’s T3 Post Hoc

38

4.5 Expectations with regards to organic fruits and vegetables

With respect to the expectations of respondents with regards to organic fruits and vegetables, majority

of them on average (3.71/5) indicated that organic fruits and vegetables must bear an organic label to

allow for easy identification. This expectation is not surprising because most fruits and vegetables in

Ghana are sold and bought fresh on the open market and as such most do not bear an organic label

whereas most imported and exported ones do bear organic labels (Osei-Asare, 2009). Likewise

consumers on average (4.09/5) indicated that more education is needed to help them decipher between

organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables. This is not surprising because organic products are

credence goods thus consumers may have a difficulty in trying to decipher if a product is produced

using organic or conventional methods, not even after repeated purchase and consumption, unless they

are told so (Bonti-Ankomah & Yiridoe, 2006).

4.6 Correlation

Correlation analysis is used primarily to measure the strength or degree of linear association between

two continuous variables (Gujarati, 2004). Generally, multicollinearity is a problem when the

correlation value is higher than 0.7 (Dormann et al., 2013). From the correlation matrix (Table 4-7),

multicollinearity is not found in the model since all variables have a correlation coefficient which is

less than 0.7.

Table 4-7 Correlation matrix (n=200)

Attitude Health Consumer Environmental Purchase

consciousness knowledge concern intention

Attitude 1.000

Health consciousness 0.526** 1.000

Consumer knowledge 0.544** 0.457** 1.000

Environmental concern 0.299** 0.649** 0.434** 1.000

Purchase intention 0.500** 0.329** 0.384** 0.228** 1.000

***p<0.001, **p<0.01, *p<0.05

39

4.7 Reliability

Reliability test was performed separately on each of the concepts to check the Cronbach’s alpha value.

A Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.6 and above is generally accepted (Flynn et al., 1994; Sarstedt & Mooi,

2014). The Cronbach’s alpha for all the concepts in Table 4-8 were equal or above 0.6 therefore

internal reliability is consistent and sufficient for further analysis.

Table 4-8 Reliability analysis (n=200)

Variable Cronbach's alpha Number of items

Attitude 0.898 3

Health consciousness 0.679 3

Environmental concern 0.731 3

Consumer knowledge 0.631 2

Purchase intention 0.630 2

Subjective knowledge 0.764 3

4.8 Regression analysis

4.8.1 Simple and multiple linear regression results

The study employed simple and multiple linear regressions and diagnostic tests were done to ensure

that all assumptions of linear regression were met.

The first regression was carried out to test the relationship between three factors and attitude whereas

the second regression was carried out to test the relationship between purchase intention and attitude.

The first regression model showed the relationship between health consciousness ( 1X ), consumer

knowledge ( 2X ) and environmental concern ( 3X ) on attitude (dependent variable=Y).

The model specification is as follows:

)1.....(.....................................110 kk XXY

Where Y represents the dependent variable, XK the explanatory/independent variables, βo (intercept),

β1….βk are regression coefficients associated with k explanatory variables, ε is the disturbance or error

term.

40

The second regression model was a simple linear regression which showed the impact of attitude (1X )

on purchase intention (dependent variable=Y).

The specified model with the same terminology as before is as follows:

)2.....(..............................110 XY

For the first regression model (Table 4-9), all the three factors (health, environmental concern and

consumer knowledge) were included in the model. All three factors were found to be significant. The

hypotheses for the positive relation between attitude and Consumer knowledge (H1) and Health

consciousness (H2) were accepted at a high level of significance (p<0.001). Both knowledge and

health consciousness positively affect the attitude towards organic food. The coefficient for

Environmental concern (H3) is negative (p<0.05) and thus the hypothesis (H3) that environmental

concern is positively related to attitude towards organic food is rejected. The R2 value refers to the

coefficient of determination and is a value between 0 and 1. It explains the variation in Y that can be

explained by the variation in the X’s. From the estimation of the model, the value of R2 was 0.410.

This shows the impact that the factors have on attitude. The factors together explained 41.0% of

attitude thus can be inferred that factors contribute main predictors of consumer attitude.

For the second regression (Table 4-10), a simple linear regression was used to determine the

relationship between purchase intention and attitude. Attitude was found to have a significant positive

impact on purchase intention thus hypothesis 4 was accepted. From the estimation of the model, the R2

was 0.250 implying that 25.0% of the intention to purchase organic fruits and vegetables is explained

by attitude. This means there are other variables that have an influence on purchase intention.

However an R2 of 25.0% means that attitude can be regarded as one of the main predictors of purchase

intention.

The beta values (the number next to the stars) indicate the individual contribution of each predictor to

the model (Field, 2009). The beta value shows the relationship between attitude and each factor. A

positive value reflects a positive relationship between the predictor and the outcome and a negative

value shows a negative relationship. Based on the results of this study, consumer knowledge and

health consciousness have a positive impact on attitude while environmental concern has a negative

impact.

The beta values also explain the degree to which each independent variable affects the dependent

variable if all other independent variables are kept constant. Among the factors influencing consumer

attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables, health consciousness had the highest impact with a beta

value of 0.572.

41

Lastly, each beta value has a corresponding standard error. As shown in Table 4-9 and Table 4-10, the

value within brackets next to the beta value is the standard error. According to Field (2009), the

standard error are used to determine whether or not the beta value differs significantly from zero.

Table 4-9 Results from multiple linear regression (n=200)

Dependent variable: Attitude

Variables Model

Beta coefficient Standard error

Consumer Knowledge1 0.520*** (0.079)

Health Consciousness2 0.572*** (0.095)

Environmental C3 -0.236* (0.101)

Constant 0.532 (0.341)

R-squared 0.410

Prob>F 0.000 ***p<0.001, **p<0.01, *p<0.05 1Scale from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree” 2Scale from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree” 3Scale from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree”

Table 4-10 Results from simple linear regression (n=200)

Dependent variable: Purchase intention

Variables Model

Beta coefficient Standard error

Attitude4 0.458*** (0.056)

Constant 1.767 (0.221)

R-squared 0.250

Prob>F 0.000

***p<0.001, **p<0.01, *p<0.05 4 Scale from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree”

42

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION

Based on previous literature on the subject and reference to the results obtained from the regression,

this section presents a discussion of the attitudes of students towards organic fruits and vegetables in

Ghana followed by a discussion of the influence of the three factors on attitude. Next an analysis of

the relationship between attitude and purchase intention and concludes with the contributions,

limitations and multidisciplinary approach of the study.

5.1 Attitude

The likes and dislikes of individuals constitute their attitudes and consumer attitude tend to influence

the way people behave in a given situation. According to Tarkiainen & Sundqvist (2005) with regards

to behaviour of consumers, the more positive an attitude, the higher the intention to perform that

behavior. In this study, attitude was determined using three statements for which the mean was 3.8/5.

This shows that generally, the students think it is good, wise and important to buy organic fruits and

vegetables and thus can be concluded that they hold a positive attitude towards organic food.

5.2 Consumer knowledge

It was hypothesized that having more knowledge about organic fruits and vegetables results in a more

positive attitude towards organic produce. It can be established from the results that consumer

knowledge impacts attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables meaning that a higher knowledge

about organic fruits and vegetables results in a more positive attitude towards organic food. Findings

from this research are consistent with similar studies that found a positive relationship between

consumer knowledge and attitude (Padel & Foster, 2005; Stobbelaar et al., 2007).

5.3 Health Consciousness

It was hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between health consciousness and attitude

towards organic fruits and vegetables among students. The co-efficient of health consciousness was

positively correlated with attitude (Table 4-9). This means that being more health conscious relates to

more positive attitude towards organic food. On average keeping all other independent variables

constant, a unit increase in health consciousness results in an increase in attitude by 0.572 thus this

hypothesis was accepted. It can be explained that students who pay attention to their health, are

concerned about their health and believe that organic food contains healthy ingredients are health

conscious and tend to have a positive attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables. This finding is

consistent with the study of Chen (2007) who found that there is a positive relationship between health

consciousness and attitude towards organic food.

43

5.4 Environmental concern

With regard to environmental concern, the hypothesis was that there is a positive relationship between

environmental concern and attitude of students towards organic fruits and vegetables. However, the

regression showed a significant negative relationship between environmental concern and attitude at a

5% level. These results indicate that being more concerned about the environment results in a more

negative attitude towards organic food. The co-efficient for environmental concern was -0.236 (Table

4-9). A unit increase in environmental concern keeping all independent variables constant, results in

declining attitude of students on average by 0.236. This hypothesis was therefore rejected. This

finding is contrary to the study of Zanoli & Naspetti (2002) who noted that environmental concerns

were strongly expressed in consuming fruits and vegetables. Other contrary results include that of

Wier & Calverley (2002) and Stobbelaar et al. (2007) who stated that adolescents and younger people

value environmental friendliness as an attribute when considering organic foods especially due to the

environmentally friendly production methods that are employed. Nonetheless, this study is in line with

the study of Vermeir & Verbeke (2006) who argued that though people may be involved in

environmental issues, they are largely passive in their role as consumer when it comes to supporting

environmental improvements with their available budget (Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006) thus

environmental concern does not necessarily translate into positive attitudes towards organic food

purchase.

5.5 Purchase intention

The results from the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between attitude and purchase

intention thus hypothesis 4 was accepted (Table 4-10). This implies that the more positive attitude

students have towards organic fruits and vegetables, the higher the likelihood of organic food

purchases. This finding is consistent with that of Saba & Messina (2003) and Chen (2009) who stated

that attitude and purchase intention consistently show a positive relationship. This result is also in line

with that of Thøgersen (2007) who mentioned that attitude is considered as a key predictor of intention

towards organic food purchases. This finding also supports the TPB theory that attitude is one factor

that determines purchase intention (Ajzen, 1991).

5.6 Contributions

This study contributes to literature in the area of organic food. This study contributes specifically to

current literature on consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana. This study

found that health consciousness and consumer knowledge are two factors that influence attitudes of

students in Ghana. Although similar studies have been conducted in other countries and found similar

results, to the best of knowledge of the author, no previous study in Ghana have explored these results

of students towards organic fruits and vegetables. Additionally, this study provides Ghanaian


44

marketers in particular with a better understanding of how they can influence the attitude and purchase

intention of this target group.

5.7 Limitations of the study

There are some limitations of this study despite its contributions. First of all, this study was conducted

using only students from one University in Ghana hence the findings must be interpreted within this

frame. Also caution must be taken with respect to generalization because respondents were from just

one University and region so might not be accurate to generalize these finding for all students and

consumers in general. Secondly, WTP was deduced in a hypothetical way thus other methods which

are non-hypothetical such as experimental auctions should be used to confirm the WTP findings of

this study.

5.8 Multidisciplinary approach

Organic production presents several opportunities and benefits in the broader context of nutrition and

rural development. Several studies indicate that organic production is encouraged on the basis of

multiple benefits. It is argued to provide healthier food, improved environment, provides economic

impacts and contributes to the rural economy (Lobley et al., 2009; Smith & Marsden, 2004; Renting et

al., 2003).

According to Lobley et al. (2009), organic farming can contribute to rural development through

enhanced employment and closer networks with the local economy, reconnecting consumers and

producers and stimulating positive economic multiplier effects. Some studies have found that in

developing countries, certified organic agriculture is more beneficial than conventional agriculture,

due to the higher price farmers receive for their produce (Bolwig et al., 2009; Maertens & Swinnen,

2009). Again organic production is argued to be more beneficial and sustainable due to less input use

in comparison to conventional agriculture. As such farmers tend to earn more, there is increased

employment and adequate money is earned to feed their households. This has wider implications on

the nutrition of households and the potential to enhance food security. Organic production in addition

safeguards the health of farmers because organic farming reduces the exposure of farmers to harmful

chemicals thus contributes to a productive workforce, improves livelihoods and general wellbeing. All

these have multiplier effects on the family and the economy as a whole. All these benefits can only be

achieved if organic production increases and the idea is more embraced.

To achieve the benefits that organic production brings, the knowledge of its positive impacts must be

advocated. An understanding of the current state of affairs (awareness, knowledge, attitudes, etc) are

crucial to allow appropriate strategies to be designed to influence people in order to benefit from the

45

positive impacts of organic production. Findings from this study therefore contributes to

understanding consumer attitudes particularly of students towards organic fruits and vegetables.

46

CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

6.1 Conclusion

The findings of the study revealed that although the objective knowledge of students were quite low,

in general, they are aware of the existence of organic fruits and vegetables and most of them hold

positive attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables. The main factors that were found to influence

attitudes of students towards organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana were health consciousness and

consumer knowledge. It can therefore be inferred that the belief about health benefits of organic as

well as the positive experiences and knowledge one holds about organic, translates into a positive

attitude.

On the other hand, environmental concern was found to have a significant negative relationship with

attitude hence the conclusion that students do not regard highly environmental issues when choosing

organic fruits and vegetables.

Additionally, the results revealed a positive relationship between attitude and purchase intention and

can be concluded that Ghanaian students that have a positive attitude towards organic are likely to

purchase organic products.

It is worth noting that although on average students were willing to pay more for organic fruits and

vegetables (especially those employed and financially well-off), they also expected that organic fruits

and vegetables be labelled primarily to make it easy to distinguish between organic and conventional

ones.

Table 6-1 Hypothesis and results summary

Hypothesis Accepted/Rejected

H1: There is a positive relationship between knowledge and attitude


Accepted

H2: There is a positive relationship between health consciousness and

attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables among students

Accepted

H3: There is a positive relationship between environmental concern and

attitude of students towards organic fruits and vegetables

Rejected

H4: There is a positive relationship between attitudes of students and their

intention to purchase organic fruits and vegetables

Accepted

47

6.2 Recommendations and further research

Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations are made:

Firstly, the outcome suggests that objective knowledge of students are quite low hence the need for

intensified awareness creation and education of the benefits of organic production.

Secondly, evidence from the study shows that there is indeed a market potential for organic in Ghana.

At the policy level, educational institutions can be mandated to increase dissemination of organic

knowledge at all levels of education. Additionally, policy makers can initiate steps to encourage

organic production so that it becomes part of the country’s national agricultural production.

Forinstance the Ministry of Food and Agriculture can be tasked to include organic knowledge in their

extension programs with farmers. These initiatives are key since increased knowledge is likely to have

multiplier effects due to the numerous benefits of organic production for rural development.

Furthermore, the present study serves as a form of recommendation and provides strategy for

marketers with regards to organic promotion in Ghana. With knowledge of factors that affect

consumer attitudes, advertisements can be well targeted for the various groups and market segments.

Marketers in Ghana can leverage on this information to forecast and design future strategies to attract

groups such as students considering that in a few years they will form a major consuming class with

high purchasing power.

Finally, policy action is needed for certification and enforcement of labels on organic products to help

consumers make well informed choices.

Given the key findings from the study, further research should explore the influence of other factors

on attitude and purchase intention, more regions and universities in Ghana should be considered to

broaden the scope of the study and allow for more generalization of the results. It will also be

interesting for future research to look at certification and labelling of organic food in the sub region.

48

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire Dear participant,

Thank you for helping complete this survey. I am a master student of Ghent University, Belgium. The

purpose of this research is to understand consumer attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in

Ghana. The results will be analyzed and used as part of a master’s dissertation. I will be grateful if you

could provide me with the necessary information to make this research successful. It will take 15

minutes to complete.

The following guidelines are provided below to help you answer this questionnaire:

Each question will be preceded by a brief introduction. It is kindly recommended that you read

through carefully before answering the questions.

For most of the questions, a scale for instance from 1 to 5 will be given. Kindly take a look at

the scale before answering the question.

The questionnaire is anonymous and all information will be treated confidentially.

Part A: Personal information

1. What is your gender?

Male [ ] Female [ ]

2. Indicate your age by ticking one of the boxes

18-24 [ ] 25-30 [ ] 31-35 [ ] 36-40 [ ] 41-45 [ ] 46 & above [ ]

3. What is your level of study?

100 [ ] 200[ ] 300[ ] 400[ ] Other …………………..

4. What is your programme of study? …………………………………………..

5. What is your marital status?

Married [ ] Single [ ] Divorced [ ] Separated [ ] Widowed [ ]

6. What is your Nationality?

Ghanaian [ ] Other (specify)…………………………

7. What is your employment status?

Full-time paid work [ ] Part-time paid work [ ] Retired [ ] Student [ ] Unemployed [ ]

8. On a scale from 1 to 6, with 1-2 being “difficult”, 3-4“average”, and 5-6 being “well-off”, how

would you estimate the financial situation of your family?

Financial situation 1-2 3-4 5-6

[ ] [ ] [ ]

55

9. Who is generally responsible for the grocery shopping for your household?

I am the main person responsible [ ]

I am responsible together with someone else [ ]

Another person is responsible [ ]

Part B: Awareness and knowledge (objective/subjective) of organic fruits and vegetables

10. Have you ever heard of the term organic produce?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

11. What is your source of knowledge?

School [ ] Friends [ ] Home/Family [ ] Internet [ ] Other media [ ]

12. Indicate if the following statements about organic produce are true or false.

T F

Organic farmers may use synthetic pesticides [ ] [ ]

Organic farmers may use synthetic fertilizers [ ] [ ]

Organic farmers may use genetically modified seeds [ ] [ ]

Organic vegetables may be irradiated to improve conservation [ ] [ ]

13. For each of the following statements, please indicate your opinion by ticking a box

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

Compared with an average person, I know a

lot about organic fruits and vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I know a lot about how to estimate the quality

of organic fruits and vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

People who know me consider me an expert in

the field of organic fruits and vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

14. Do you consume organic fruits and vegetables?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

15. How often do you eat the following products?

Never Seldom Often Nearly always

Fruits [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Vegetables [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

16. On 10 times that you buy the following food item, how often do you choose one that is

organic?

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fruits [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Vegetables [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

17. Where do you normally purchase organic fruits and vegetables?

Supermarket [ ] Farm/garden [ ] Market [ ] Street side [ ] Other……..

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18. Please indicate how likely it is that you plan or desire to purchase organic fruits and vegetables.

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

agree

I am more likely to purchase organic fruits and

vegetables next time I go shopping

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I intend to buy organic fruits and vegetables in

the near future

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Part C: Attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables

19. What is your attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables?

Strongly

disagree


agree

I think it is good to buy organic fruits and

vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I think it is important to buy organic fruits and

vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I think it is wise to buy organic fruits and

vegetables

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

20. What factors influence your attitude towards organic fruits and vegetables?

Health consciousness Strongly

disagree


agree

I pay attention to my health [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I believe organic food contains more natural

and healthy ingredients than conventional food

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Health is very important to me [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Environmental concern

I pay a lot of attention to the

environment

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Environmental aspect is very

important in my food choice

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I believe that organic fruits and vegetables are

produced in a more environmentally friendly

manner than conventional ones

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Consumer knowledge

My knowledge about organic fruits and

vegetables is sufficient

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

In general, I hold a positive opinion about

organic food

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Price

Organic food is expensive [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

The price of organic food is very important to

me

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I don’t mind paying more for organic food [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Trust

I have confidence in food producers when they

claim products are organic

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I have trust in supermarkets when they [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

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advertise products as organic

I have confidence when producers have

certification as organic

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Product related

Organic food is a marketing scam [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I view organic food as a status symbol [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Status plays a role in my purchase of organic

food

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I associate organic food with affluent lifestyle [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

I feel pressure from my friends or family to

purchase organic food

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

21. How would you evaluate the following aspects when comparing organic fruits and vegetables with

conventional ones? “Organic fruits and vegetables scores (worse/better) than conventional ones”.

Much worse Worse Same Better Much better

Healthiness [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Taste [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Price [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Safety [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Environmental friendliness [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Quality [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Availability [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Proximity [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

22. Will you be willing to pay more for organic fruits and vegetables?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

23. Assume a normal fruit and vegetable eg: pawpaw costs GH₵2. How much are you willing to pay

extra for an organic pawpaw?

0.00 [ ] 0.10-0.50 [ ] 0.60-1.00[ ] 1.10-1.50[ ] 1.60-2.00[ ] 2.00 & above [ ]

24. What are your expectations with regards to organic fruits and vegetables?

Strongly

disagree


agree

Organic fruits and vegetables must bear an

organic label

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Consumers need more education to help

them decipher between organic and

conventional ones

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Thank you for completing the questionnaire

Attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in Ghana · fruits and vegetables are more likely...

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