Breaking the myth of urban consumers’ rice preference in
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania: good news for the Kahama Rice Hub!
By Gaudiose Mujawamariya (AfricaRice, Dar es
Salaam), Rose Fiamohe (AfricaRice, Cotonou), Esther Leah Achandi (AfricaRice,
Dar-es-Salaam) and Maimouna Ndour
(AfricaRice, St. Louis)
The rice value chain team at Africa Rice Center, Cotonou (Benin),
Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) and Saint Louis (Senegal) organized and hosted a
training workshop from 21 to 25 April 2014 in Dar-es-Salaam on ‘Experimental
Auctions’ for national agricultural research systems (NARS) scientists from
seven African countries, namely Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Niger,
Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
 |
Participants
of the Training Workshop on ‘Experimental
Auctions’ with Dr Paul Kiepe,
AfricaRice Regional
Representative for East and Southern Africa (center)
|
Experimental auctions are conducted with the
aim of promoting value chain innovations through improving existing marketing
strategies for rice and rice-related products in the rice sector development
hubs. In his opening remarks, Dr. Paul Kiepe, Regional Representative for East
and Southern Africa, emphasized the importance of consumer-based research which
responds to consumer needs and preferences, instead of the traditional focus on
issues of production without linkage to market.
During the training, theoretical aspects of
experimental auctions were covered and practical auction sessions were
conducted. Forty-one participants,
including 20 men and 21 women, were
randomly recruited from two markets (Kisutu
and Tandare) in Dar es Salaam. The
participants were asked to assess four rice types in both cooked and uncooked
forms.
 |
Determining
consumers’ willingness to Pay for quality rice
|
Each participant was given one kilogram of
the benchmark rice generally perceived to be of a lower quality in terms of
some prior determined criteria. They were then tasked to make a decision of
upgrading to an available rice type of a better quality and offer an amount
expressing the willingness to pay (WTP) in order to obtain a kilogram of the
alternative rice type.
The offers were assessed and the highest
bidder was declared winner of the auction. In the light of the Vickrey Auction Procedure, the
winner of the auction was charged a second price (certainly below what his/her
price offer for the auction was!)
The benchmark was SARO-5 (TXD 306) a
semi-aromatic rice variety, mainly grown in the Morogoro region of Tanzania.
There were three alternative rice varieties: (1) ‘Mchele wa Mbeya’, which is commonly found in the Dar-es-Salaam
market but is generally considered to be a mixture of different rice varieties[1],
(2) Supa, presumably the most
preferred by consumers (grown in Mbeya
and Arusha regions), and (3) Kalamata mainly grown in Shinyanga region but with a historically bad reputation in terms of consumer perception; known
for poor grain quality due to direct drying on the ground and by the road side.
Although the drying system has since improved considerably by using
tarpaulin, to the urban consumer with a preference for clean rice, Kalamata is still not well perceived;
rather it is Supa Mbeya that enjoys
the place of honor in as far as consumer taste is concerned in Dar-es-Salaam. Supa is considered the best in terms of
its aroma, cleanliness, freshness, and low percentage of breakage.
This professed preference was however called to question during the
experiment as consumers expressed strong preference for Kalamata. It was confirmed through their unanimous decision to
upgrade from the SARO-5 to Kalamata which
was not the case for the other alternative rice types that were presented to
the consumers. Furthermore, the average WTP for Kalamata was the highest observed, ranging from 560 to 630
Tanzanian Shillings (Tsh) per kilogram in comparison to the other varieties
whose WTP lay between 190 and 310 Tsh per kilogram.
The preference for Kalamata
remained dominant throughout all the rounds and was even more pronounced after
the sensory test of the cooked rice, and during and after the discussions among
participants in the collective auction sessions.
While preference for Supa
improved with the tasting of the cooked rice, no other changes were observed
in the other rounds. Although consumers
claimed they preferred Supa, and
strongly believed they had correctly affirmed their preferences, it is the
less-known traditional Kalamata
variety which emerged as the clear winner of the auction, implying that indeed
it holds the potential to compete in the urban market of Dar-es-Salaam.
This certainly is good news for the Kahama rice hub in Tanzania, which is the biggest producer of Kalamata. Certainly, these results will
be investigated further. Yet, the experimental auction unveiled its potential
in becoming competitive at the Dar-es-Salaam market should quality
improvements, promotions and branding activities be pursued to restore its
image and reputation.
As Dr Paul Kiepe emphasized in his closing remarks, these tangible
results can be adopted as areas for further action in research in enhancing
consumer awareness.
As
part of a series of training programs designed for accountants from member
countries of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to improve the quality and
timeliness of financial reporting for rice R&D projects conducted by
AfricaRice in partnership with national agricultural research systems (NARS), 16
accountants from eight countries (Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda) participated in a training course, 14-16
May 2014, in Cotonou, Benin.
