title: Consumer attitudes towards vegetable attributes: potential buyers of pesticide-free vegetables in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.
abstract: Considering the inappropriate use of synthetic pesticides on vegetables in West Africa, the rationale behind this research was to assess the extent to which consumers can function as demanders of risk reduced vegetables and hence act as innovators towards vegetable safety. Using the cases of Kumasi and Accra in Ghana, the study examined possible consumer responses to product certification that communicates freedom from pesticides (e.g., organic certification). Generally, search attributes such as the fresh and healthy appearance of a vegetable were found to be central to consumer choice. While consumers stress the importance of health value, they are mostly unaware of agro-chemical risks related to vegetable consumption.
authors: Centre for Development Research, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria. lorenz.probst@boku.ac.at
authors: Lorenz
authors: L
authors: Probst
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Aigelsperger
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Hauser
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000191:economics; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000032:analysis / Q000191:economics; D005869:Ghana; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000191:economics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D010573:Pesticide Residues