Willingness to pay to access information about aflatoxin

Last registered on March 13, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Willingness to pay to access information about aflatoxin
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010218
Initial registration date
March 13, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 13, 2023, 3:35 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Senegal
Region
Thiès

Primary Investigator

Name
Fatou Fall
Affiliation
Université Paris-Dauphine -PSL
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Joshua Deutschmann
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago.
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Gashaw T. Abate
PI Affiliation
IFPRI
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Tanguy Bernard
PI Affiliation
University of Bordeaux
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-08-22
End date
2022-09-02
Keywords
Agriculture, Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
D12, D83, D64, I12, , Q13, Q18
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Aflatoxin is a toxin affecting a variety of crops which induces harmful damage to the liver when ingested. Many countries have put in place regulations on the level of aflatoxin in food to address public health concerns. This is not the case for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, despite the prevalence of aflatoxin in crops. Groundnuts are one of the main crops in Senegal, both for sale and for consumption. Groundnuts are also highly susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. Several studies have shown that aflatoxin is a health problem in Senegal, yet Senegal has no regulations on the level of aflatoxin in groundnut. This lack of regulation leads to two main problems for Senegalese groundnut farmers who are both producers and consumers: they have difficulty exporting their production and they face health risks related to the consumption of poor quality groundnuts. In this context of poor regulation, groundnut farmers have a key role in reducing and monitoring aflatoxin levels in their production. We explore three channels that could motivate farmers to test for aflatoxin contamination : a health channel ( as farmers consume what they produce, they could invest in aflatoxin testing because they consume it and do not want to eat harmful food), a financial gain channel (farmers might think they could find a buyer who would pay more for better quality production) and an altruistic channel ( farmers do not want their production to be harmful to the people who consume it.)
We designed a study that aims to explore the relative valuations farmers place on each of these channels, and how those valuations interact. We use a discrete choice experiment with randomized access to comprehensive information about aflatoxin, coupled with a Becker-DeGroot-Marshak mechanism to estimate the willingness to pay for access to information on aflatoxin levels in groundnuts among Senegalese groundnut farmers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abate, Gashaw T. et al. 2023. "Willingness to pay to access information about aflatoxin." AEA RCT Registry. March 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10218-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment to assess the willingness to pay for information about aflatoxin in groundnut powder, with random variation across game rounds in the destination of the groundnut powder.
We cross-randomize an intervention that provides comprehensive video-based information about aflatoxin, with the control group watches a placebo comedy video.
Intervention Start Date
2022-08-22
Intervention End Date
2022-09-02

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to Pay
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The price proposed by the farmer for the card proposed during a round

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Aflatoxin is a toxin that affects several crops and, when ingested, causes liver damage. Groundnut is one of the crops affected by aflatoxin and is widely grown in Senegal. In this study, we seek to highlight the reasons why farmers might value information about the level of aflatoxin in groundnut. We use a discrete choice experiment with random access to full aflatoxin information coupled with a Becker-DeGroot-Marshak mechanism to estimate the willingness to pay for access to information on the level of aflatoxin in groundnuts for groundnuts farmers.
We use 4 bags of groundnut powder divided between 3 purposes: personal consumption, third-party consumption, and sale. We obtain willingness to pay to reveal information in groundnuts for different allocations of the 4 bags for 12 successive rounds.
Experimental Design Details
Each farmer is first asked to answer a questionnaire. Information on the last marketing season and the current growing season is collected, as well as information on socio-demographic characteristics, preferences, and knowledge of groundnut diseases. Following the survey, the farmer is offered 1000 FCFA ($1.47) as a thank you gift for participating in the survey. The farmer is then asked to participate in a decision game with groundnut powder (Noflaye). If the farmer refuses, the survey ends and the farmer leaves with the 1000 FCFA. If the farmer accepts, the game begins. The farmers first complete an example game with biscuits before beginning the full game.
In this game, in each round we present the farmer with 500g of Noflaye divided into 4 bags of 125g.
A sample card is presented to the farmer to explain how to read the 12 cards that will be successively presented afterwards. Each card shows a different distribution of 500gr of Noflaye divided into 4 bags of 125gr divided between 3 different uses:
-Consumption: the farmer keeps the groundnut for his own consumption.
-Donation: the farmer gives us back the groundnuts so that we can donate them to Talibés (young boys from poor, often rural families, entrusted by their parents to a Koranic school for their religious education, but who are in fact obliged to beg for food and money in the streets).
- Sale: the farmer sells us the groundnuts at the current market price, 1000 FCFA/kilo (125 FCFA) per bag.

For each card presented (constituting a round), the farmer is asked how much he or she is willing to pay to find out whether the aflatoxin level in the groundnut is high or low, with a maximum of 1000 FCFA.
At the beginning, a brief presentation of aflatoxin and its effects is given as well as information on the prevalence of aflatoxin in Senegalese peanut production according to a recent study (1/3 of production). This is intended to fix common beliefs at the beginning of the experiment about the benefit and risk of paying to reveal test results. In practice, none of the samples we used were contaminated with aflatoxins.
If the farmer chooses to pay to reveal the aflatoxin level of the peanut, two scenarios are possible:
The aflatoxin level is low: he can keep for consumption, give away, and he can sell the peanut at 1600 FCFA/kilo (200FCFA per bag)
The aflatoxin level is revealed to be high: everything is kept on order.
If he chooses not to pay, he can keep for consumption, give away, and sell at 1000 FCFA/kilo but without anyone knowing whether it is low or high aflatoxin groundnuts.

The game goes as follows:
1. The farmer plays 6 rounds, 1 card in each round where he has to offer the price he is willing to pay for the given distribution of the card.
2. We pause and introduce the intervention: the farmer watches a video of about 8 minutes. If the farmer is in the control group, he/she watches a comedy video unrelated to aflatoxin. If he/she is in the treatment group, he/she watches a video about aflatoxin made by an expert. In this video, information on the health effects of aflatoxin and the causes and reasons for the proliferation of aflatoxin in Senegalese peanut production is provided in Wolof (the local language) by a Senegalese scientist from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) who has been working on aflatoxin in Senegal and sub-Saharan Africa for over 30 years.
3. The farmer plays 6 more rounds, 1 card in each of which he must offer the price he is willing to pay for the given distribution of the card.
4. The tablet randomly draws the price that will be applied
5. The tablet randomly draws the card (allocation) that will be applied and recalls the choice made by the farmer for this card.
6. The farmer's choice for the chosen card is applied: if he chooses not to pay, he receives the distribution without information. If the price drawn is higher than the price offered, he receives the distribution without information. If the farmer chooses to pay and the price drawn is less than the price offered, he pays and the enumerator checks the aflatoxin level using the number on the bags.
Since we have ensured that all the groundnuts offered are fit for consumption, the farmer receives the card distribution with the information of the correct aflatoxin level and the premium price.
Randomization Method
Randomization made in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
450 individual
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
225
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Standard error from the pilot : 16 FCFA (price) MDE=4.2
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IFPRI
IRB Approval Date
2022-08-08
IRB Approval Number
00007490
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
September 02, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
September 02, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
439
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
439
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
214 control 225 treatment
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials