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This study investigated consumers' satisfaction with local rice attributes and willingness to pay (WTP) for improvement by internal migrants and natives in urban Ghana.

Primary data was sourced from 304 urban consumers and ordered probit regression was employed.

Urban consumers had higher satisfaction with imported rice attributes than local rice. Consumers were unsatisfied with aroma, availability/accessibility, cleanliness, packaging, grain appearance, measurement standard, and taste of local rice. Moreover, 90% were willing to pay higher prices for local rice with improved attributes and WTP was higher among natives than migrants. Averagely, urban consumers are willing to pay 51% increase in market price of local rice if attributes were improved. Natives, males, educated, high-income, local rice consumption, shopping from supermarkets, trust in certification bodies, and dissatisfaction with local rice attributes boost WTP for improved local rice attributes.

There is a great market potential for local rice with improved attributes. Thus, there should be an improvement in local rice attributes and sold at moderate price and in supermarkets.

We compared consumers' satisfaction and WTP for improved local rice attributes among internal migrants and natives in urban Ghana.

Rice is the main cereal in Senegal. Despite efforts to improve the sector, consumers still prefer imported rice. Only one previous study conducted by the authors analyzed these preferences using a sensory analysis approach (Mané et al., 2021). This initial study showed that local rice can compete with imported rice if processing is improved. Based on these results, this study aims to identify the physicochemical parameters responsible for the sensory quality identified in Senegalese consumers.

In this context, the physicochemical and cooking properties of 12 rice samples were analyzed and the correlations between these physicochemical and sensory properties were studied.

The results showed that imported rice had a higher 1000-kernel weight, grain length and transparency values, whereas local rice had higher water uptake, swelling ratios, gelatinization temperature and iron and magnesium contents. Correlations have shown that positive descriptors such as “beautiful,” “white color,” “good taste,” “fragrant,” “fine grains,” “typical rice odor,” well-cooked” and “scattered” were correlated with varietal and technological criteria such as high 1000-grain weight, grain length, whiteness, transparency and absence of impurities in rice. In contrast, negative sensory descriptors such as “pasty” and “sticky texture” were associated with water uptake ratio, gelatinization temperature, rice breakage and cooking time.

These results show how to improve the quality of new rice varieties in the country based on the physicochemical parameters associated with the positive sensory properties cited above by consumers.

This paper examined the factors influencing the participation of rice processors in short supply chains and the participation impact on the amount of rice processed, per capita expenditure of household and value of sales.

The Seemingly Unrelated Regression and Doubly Robust Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting Model (AIPW) were used to analyse the determinants of short supply chain participation and the impact of short supply.

From the results, the mean value of rice processed was GH₵18385 (US$ 3,069.28), with the minimum value being GH₵ 25 (US$ 4.17) and the maximum GH₵ 67200 (US$ 1,1218.70) per annum. Processed rice aroma and grade characteristics positively influence the value of processed rice sold via short supply chains as well as the expertise rate of the processor, Farmer-Based Organisation membership, and marketing information availability. Women rice processors' per capita expenditure, total sales value and the value of processed rice was positively influenced by the short supply chain participation.

Even though the sample size was appropriate, a larger sample size could further support the study's finding since a limited geographical area with predominant domestic rice processors was studied. Again, future studies should consider behavioural theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, amongst others, in understanding the reasons for the choices of short supply chains compared to other sales outlets.

Although there is a growing body of literature on rice, most of the studies focussed on the marketing outlet of rice producers, rice processing, constraints and opportunities faced by rice farmers and processors and an out-grower scheme involving rice processors amongst rice producers with none of these on the choice of short supply chains amongst women processors. Also, amongst all the studies on rice producers, none applied a theory; however, the Women in Development (WID) Theory was used to analyse the impact of the short supply chain on the impact on household per capita expenditure (poverty), the value of sales and amount of rice processed, a modest theoretical contribution of the paper to literature.

A Casebook of Indigenous Business Practices in Africa is a collection of business case studies that expand understanding of how indigenous enterprises apply entrepreneurial practices embedded in culture to achieve success. Indigenous methods are part of Africa's social and economic fabric, and these cases identify concepts and models that can accelerate growth in Africa. The value of these practices across regions of Africa cannot be overemphasised despite the dominance of Western business methods, which, though beneficial, are yet to drive the continent's developmental agenda. By exploring indigenous business practices in Africa, students, educators, practitioners, entrepreneurs and government decision-makers will be introduced to unique and sustainable practices that can foster inclusive growth and social and economic empowerment when contextualised within the business landscape. Identification of relevant orientations in indigenous practices that will benefit contemporary business frameworks and actors is a significant contribution of the authors of this book. Incorporation of these indigenous methods into management teachings and business practices is essential to the continent's economic growth and socio-cultural progress.

The article offers a study of the central food marketplace in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The purpose of the study is to explore how changes in the marketplace reflect transformation of urban food systems resulting from neoliberal restructuring during the final decades of the twentieth century.

Drawing on long-term qualitative research conducted during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ethnographic and survey methods, the article illustrates how central urban marketplaces offer a window into transitions in both international and domestic food economies.

Research findings illustrate that the marketplace in Santiago operated in a state of economic hybridity, intermixing long established regionally produced domestic crops such as yuca, plantains and pigeon peas deeply rooted in Dominican agrarian culture with products dervived from liberalization of the Dominican economy such as imported rice, beans and eventually numerous Dominican food staples.

The study is limited by the scope of analysis which is one urban marketplace. More sites for researching marketplaces could be added for more comparative analysis.

The research findings have implications for how governments define social and economic policy that impacts domestic food producers and intermediary brokers that aggregate and debulk food to feed cities.

The scholarship raises questions about how the social and economic organization of urban marketplaces in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere reflect historical transitions in local, national and global economies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine households’ acceptability of local (Ofada) rice by identifying the quality attributes influencing marginal implicit prices (MIPs) paid by rice consumers’ households in South-West, Nigeria.

The data used for this study were collected from a survey of 600 rice-consuming households in the study area. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Well-structured questionnaires were used to collect information on general households’ socioeconomic characteristics, their desirability and preference for local (Ofada) rice, and market prices of Ofada rice. Kendall’s concordance test was performed to confirm agreement among respondents in their rankings of the rice quality attributes. Hedonic price function was used to examine the relationship between implicit prices paid by consumers based on quality attributes of local (Ofada) rice, as observed in the market.

The result of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance revealed that there is 73.74 per cent agreement in ranking quality attributes of local (Ofada) rice consumers’ households in the study area. Colour, perceived nutrient level, taste, grain shape and rate of breakage were the most ranked quality attributes with mean attribute ranking scores of 1.56, 1.69, 3.12, 5.53 and 5.86, respectively. The result of the hedonic pricing model revealed that households are willing to pay MIPs of ₦71.03 ($0.20), ₦45.23 ($0.13), ₦32.98 ($0.09), ₦21.06 ($0.06) and ₦14.41($0.04) per kg for colour, grain cohesion, grain shape, perceived nutrient level and perceived chemical storage, respectively, while discounting MIPs of ₦60.55 ($0.17), ₦19.36 ($0.05), ₦17.14 ($0.05) and ₦6.00 ($0.02) for texture, rate of breakage, perceived freshness and low swelling capacity per kg of local (Ofada) rice, respectively.

Continuous importation of rice into the country has many negative implications such as worsening of the poverty status of local rice farmers, unemployment of teeming youths engaged in rice value chain, and exposure to soaring and unpredictable price bringing unsustainable development. Lastly, over-dependency on rice importation, if not checked, can also permit dumping of low quality and sometimes expired rice into the country. All aforementioned reasons will make it difficult for local rice to compete favourably with imported varieties.

Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and Hedonic model were used as a diagnostic tools. These diagnostic tools show the need for government and relevant stakeholders to focus on improving the quality of local (Ofada) rice, especially the undesirable attributes. This could be achieved by adopting modern processing technology, that will enhance production and consumers’ acceptability, which could make local (Ofada) rice have good market share against imported brands.

The economic value of a good is revealed by the consumer’s willingness to pay for the good, consequently increasing production through consumers’ acceptability, and improve living standard of farmers and processors through increased earnings.

The choice of a particular local rice, especially local (Ofada) rice, is made to estimate the effect of different attributes on the price paid by rice consumers’ households and to help in the development of effective technologies and policy that enhance better rice quality using both Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and Hedonic model to achieve the objective. For the first time this research has given clarity on the monetary value attached to local (Ofada) rice consumption by rice consumers’ households through quality attributes.

This paper attempts to understand how the interaction of natural disasters and human behaviour during wartime led to famines in three regions under imperial control around the Indian Ocean. The socio-economic structure of these regions had been increasingly differentiated over the period of imperial rule, with large proportions of their populations relying on agricultural labour for their subsistence.

Before the war, food crises in each of the regions had been met by the private importation of grain from national or overseas surplus regions: the grain had been made available through a range of systems, the most complex of which was the Bengal Famine Code in which the able-bodied had to work before receiving money to buy food in the market.

During the Second World War, the loss of control of normal sources of imported grain, the destruction of shipping in the Indian Ocean (by both sides) and the military demands on internal transport systems prevented the use of traditional famine responses when natural events affected grain supply in each of the regions. These circumstances drew the governments into attempts to control their own grain markets.

The food crises raised complex ethical and practical issues for the governments charged with their solution. The most significant of these was that the British Government could have attempted to ship wheat to Bengal but, having lost naval control of the Indian Ocean in 1942 and needing warships in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1943 chose to ignore the needs of the people of Bengal, focussing instead on winning the war.

In each of the regions governments allowed/encouraged the balkanisation of the grain supply – at times down to the sub-district level – which at times served to produce waste and corruption, and opened the way for black markets as various groups (inside and outside government ranks) manipulated the local supply.

People were affected in different ways by the changes brought about by the war: some benefitted if their role was important to the war-effort; others suffered. The effect of this was multiplied by the way each government ‘solved’ its financial problems by – in essence – printing money.

Because of the natural events of the period, there would have been food crises in these regions without World War II, but decisions made in the light of wartime exigencies and opportunities turned crises into famines, causing the loss of millions of lives.

Weaknesses in the grades and standards system in low-income countries across Sub-Saharan Africa undermine the transparency of agricultural markets. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana and Mozambique rice is predominately sold in open bags and if rice price does not reflect its quality, then inefficiencies may lead to consumer welfare losses. Importantly, it is possible that impoverished communities are priced out of the market due to inflated and inefficient prices. The objective of this study is to examine determinates of rice price by estimating the impact of selected rice quality attributes on rice prices in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Mozambique.

We collected 363 rice samples from open air markets in Bukavu (DRC), Nampula (Mozambique) and across Ghana in 2019. Each rice sample was analyzed in a food science lab for the quality attributes: percentage of chalk and brokens, chalk impact, length and length-to-width ratio. We used multiple regression analysis to estimate if and to what extent quality attributes were the drivers of price.

Findings suggest that there are irregularities in the Ghanaian market for broken rice and that regardless of quality, imported rice is priced higher than domestic rice. In the DRC and Mozambique, our results indicate price is driven by length and length-to-width ratio in the former and length-to-width ratio in the latter.

Rice samples were purchased from market vendors and thus consumer preferences for attributes were not revealed.

These results provide valuable insight to policymakers regarding the need for proper labeling and regulation of open bag rice sales in an effort to increase consumer welfare and improve food security.

The purpose of this paper is to assess Korean consumers' valuation for domestic rice and imported rice from China and the USA.

In order to identify Korean consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for domestic, Chinese, and US rice, the non-hypothetical experimental auction approach (i.e. the random nth price auction) was utilized. Auction participants were randomly assigned to three treatments: no labelling information, country of origin labelling information, and food miles labelling information to analyze the effects of differing labelling information on consumers' valuation.

The results suggest that Korean consumers have a positive perception of and preference for domestic rice, particularly when country of origin information is provided. However, food miles information alone may not help consumers to distinguish between domestic and Chinese rice.

The marketing of imported rice will increase since Korea will be opening its rice market under tariffication after 2015. Therefore, it is necessary for Korea and other exporting countries to identify the feasibility of marketing both domestic and imported rice, and also to investigate which rice from specific countries Korean consumers prefer. Therefore, the authors conducted the random nth price auction using real rice products and cash in transactions.

The objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of cooking and soaking on the physical characteristics, nutrient composition and sensory evaluation of an indigenous “ofada” rice and a foreign “aroso” rice varieties in Nigeria.

The two rice varieties were freshly purchased in the raw state, soaked in water and cooked. The physical characteristics, such as length, width, weight, colour, purity, breakage, cooking time, dispersability and swelling capacity of the raw rice varieties were determined according to official methods. The raw, soaked and cooked rice varieties were oven‐dried at 60^○C for 4 h and milled to obtain a uniform surface area. The proximate composition and some minerals of the raw, soaked and cooked rice varieties and the sensory evaluation of the cooked rice were determined. Findings–The physical characteristics showed that “ofada” and “aroso” rice varieties were brown and creamy in colour, respectively. There were significant (p<0.01) differences in the purity, breakage, cooking time, swelling capacity and weight of the whole grain, but no difference in the length and width. The raw, cooked and soaked “ofada” rice contain more protein, fat, and fibre, than in “aroso” rice, but with no change in carbohydrate content. There were no significant (p>0.01) differences in the levels of minerals, Ca, Fe, Mg and P, in raw, cooked and soaked “ofada” and “aroso” rice. Sensory evaluation showed that cooked aroso rice was generally preferred, in terms of colour, aroma, taste, texture and overall acceptability.

The methods employed in this study are very simple and the two rice varieties are readily available, acceptable to local tastes and widely consumed in Nigeria. The local or indigenous “ofada” rice is compared favourably with a foreign and imported parboiled “aroso” rice. It is therefore possible for small scale and cottage industries to embark on commercial production and fortification of the local rice varieties in Nigeria.