Analysis of Consumers’ Preference for Local Rice among Households in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Consumers’ preference for local rice determines its demand. Therefore, the study was carried out to analyze consumers’ preference for local rice among households in Ekiti State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for this study. A total of 240 women were randomly selected from three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the State. Primary data were obtained with the use of a well-structured interview schedule. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistic like logistic regression. The mean age of the respondents was 38 years and more than half (53.3%) of the respondents were females. Most (70.0%) of the respondents had a mean family size of 7 persons. Most (87.0%) preferred local rice and factors influencing consumers’ preference for local rice include good nutritional value, quality of rice and good taste. Local rice was very much preferred by the respondents. Logistic regression shows that significant influence exists between price, taste, availability of rice and presence of particles and preferred choice of rice. Therefore, efforts should be made by the government to formulate price control policy on local rice for its affordability by the consumers and there should be improvement on processing technology of local rice to eliminate presence of particles for improved quality and good taste to enhance the consumers’ preference for choice of rice. Also, the government should support farmers through provision of incentives and credit facilities so as to produce more local rice for its availability all year round.