Farmers Economic Valuation of Agro-biodiversity in West Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Choice Experiment Approach

Abstract

The public goods nature of the resource and the absence of market prices is one of the major challenges of agro-biodiversity conservation. Therefore, the use of non-market valuation methods, which takes into account both use and non-use values of resources is very crucial. This study was designed to quantify farm household’s economic values of agro-biodiversity in a selected region in the northern Ethiopian highlands. We used the choice experiment method to evaluate farm households’ willingness to pay for different agro-biodiversity attributes. The study used six agro-biodiversity attributes and 16 choice sets randomly blocked into two blocks. Sample of 200 respondents each presented with 8 choice sets resulting a total of 1600 observations. The random parameter logit estimates revealed that farmers willingness to pay for landrace, organic farming, and crop species diversity were 549.58, 430 and 228.53 birr per year per household respectively. The study recommends that, to conserve agro-biodiversity effectively, the government and agricultural development agencies should motivate the production of organic farming through price premiums and quick certification of organic crops, expanding gene banks to restore lost traditional varieties, and motivate farmers to adopt the practice of modern organic farming methods.