Consumers' Preference for Underutilized Indigenous Vegetables in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Understanding the attributes of consumers' desire in Underutilised Indigenous Vegetables (UIVs) will ensure demand driven supply. This paper therefore, examined the preferences of consumers for UIVs consumed in Osun State. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 150 respondents in Osun State. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and conjoint analysis. The result of the descriptive statistics showed that 48% of the surveyed consumers were married, 78% were educated with the mean age of 44.15+13.66 years and 4+2.89 household members. Also, the average annual income earned by the respondents was N736,032.00+N534,270.81. The result of the conjoint analysis showed that great preference was placed on indigenous vegetables that have bitter taste, highly medicinal with moderate price and available all year round. The study therefore recommended that scientists should develop UIVs seeds that can produce the combination of these attributes, preferred by the consumers.