Estimation of Willingness to Pay for Life Cycle Eco-label Using Spike Model (A Case Study of Fresh Packaged Agricultural Products)

بوم شناسی کشاورزی

Article 3, Volume 16, Issue 4 - Serial Number 62, December 2025, Pages 625-641   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/agry.2024.86245.1187

Authors

samaneh heydari¹; Leili Abolhassani^{* 2}; Morteza Molaei³; Ali Firoz-zare²

¹Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

²Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Abstract

Introduction[1]
In recent years, attention has been attracted to the environmental pollution resulting from the production of products, and as a result, the interest of the communities to know more about the environmental protection and destruction factors has increased. Eco-labels are defined to respond to this need of society. Estimating the economic value of eco-labels of agricultural products that provide environmental information about products and their production process to consumers, shows what share of the costs necessary to collect such information and data will be paid by consumers and in this way, the value of labels can be determined for consumers. In Iran, especially in Mashhad, where a significant part of fresh agricultural products is irrigated with urban and industrial wastewater and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the production of agricultural products is common, the implementation of the labeling scheme for fresh agricultural products due to its impact on the health of consumers and the environment is very important. A large number of consumers of the above products want to have information about the level of contamination of these products and use healthier products, and therefore they are willing to pay for providing this information.
 
Materials and Methods
In this research, the evaluation of eco-labels on freshly packaged agricultural products by measuring people's willingness to pay for these products in 11 regions of Mashhad is discussed. In the present study, the contingent valuation method and single bound dichotomous questionnaires were used, and the bid amounts used in the questionnaire were designed using the Boyle and Bishop method. The spike model has been used to measure the willingness to pay and check the factors affecting it.
Results and Discussion
The results from the questionnaires indicate that out of 150 participants, 27 stated they would not be willing to pay for eco-labels on freshly packaged agricultural products. Consequently, the bids, designed using Boyle and Bishop's method, were applied to the remaining 123 participants. The suggested bid amounts were 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%, and 80%. The results from the spike model show that the variables of marital status, monthly family income, the market where the product was purchased, the importance of the product's appearance, the individual's attitude towards the environmental impact of traditional agriculture, prior knowledge of eco-labels, and the bid amount all have a significant and positive effect. The variables of age and the importance of the shape product packaging have significant and negative effect on willingness to pay. The studied population is willing to pay about 71% more for freshly packaged agricultural products with an eco-label than the sample price without a label. The significant percentage of willingness to pay calculated in this research is due to the fact that the percentage results depend on the price of goods and for goods and services that have a lower price (such as fresh agricultural products considered in this research), the percentage of willingness to pay will be higher. It should also be noted that the statistical population of the present study is the 11th district of Mashhad, whose residents have a relatively high-income level (the opinion of municipal experts). The estimated willingness to pay also indicates the importance of eco-labels for freshly packaged agricultural products.
Conclusion
The studied population is willing to pay about 71% more for freshly packaged agricultural products with an eco-label than the sample price without a label. The significant percentage of willingness to pay for eco-labels indicates the importance of these labels for freshly packaged agricultural products from the consumers' point of view.
 
 



 
 



 
 

Keywords

Bid design; Boyle and Bishop method; Contingent valuation; Dichotomous response method Eco-label design

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