Consumers’ Preference for Cowpea in Nigeria

The study investigates consumers’ preference for cowpea reflectedin the nigerian markets through price discounts andpremiums that consumers pay for different cowpea characteristics.the price data used for this study were obtained through amarket survey. a common data collection protocol was employed.every month, between october 2009 to december 2010, fivecowpea samples per seller were bought from randomly selectedsellers in six markets and the prices noted. in the laboratory, thenon-price data, such as, 100 grain weight, number of bruchidholes per 100 grains, eye colour and texture of the testa wereobtained. a hedonic pricing regression model was used toanalyze data collected. hedonic pricing methods provide a statisticalestimate of premiums and discounts. results indicatethat eye colour is the most important determinant of cowpeamarket prices. cowpeas with brown colour commands a clearpremium in all but one market. the consumers discount pricesfor insect damage in most markets. in general, this study signalsthe need for cowpea breeders to identify cost effective ways ofbreeding for brown coloured cowpea (ife-brown specie) whichwas noted to attract price premium.