Comparing farmers’ willingness to pay with costs of clean sweet potato seed multiplication in Kenya

The production of sweet potato has the potential to address food insecurity and malnutrition in the context of climate change. However, sustainable production of sweet potato is hampered by poor access to quality seed. We assess the level and determinants of farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for clean seed among smallholder sweet potato farmers and compare the estimated WTP with the cost of seed multiplication. Data for the paper were collected from 383 sweet potato farmers and 30 sweet potato seed multipliers in Kenya. WTP was estimated using the double bounded contingent valuation method while the determinants of WTP were analysed using an ordered probit regression model. Results show that the mean WTP for clean seed was KES 578.94 (about US$ 5.68) for a 90kg bag with variations in WTP observed across geographical regions and prior use of clean seed. Results further show that WTP increases with prior use of clean seed and experience in sweet potato production. The net cost of clean seed multiplication was KES. 444.81 (US$ 4.36), which is lower than the estimated WTP. These results suggest that seed multiplication business may be economically viable but this will depend on other transaction costs and establishment of efficient distribution systems.