Consumer Preferences for Blockchain Technology in Agriculture
Date
2024-05
Authors
Smith, Barbara
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Abstract
Information asymmetries inherent in the agricultural supply chain impose large economic costs. For instance, a lack of transparency regarding the quality attributes of food products may lead to the well-known “lemons” problem, where consumers cannot distinguish between high and low-quality products, leading to a market inundated with inferior products. Blockchain technology is a contemporary solution to this problem, as it offers a mechanism to provide comprehensive information on the production of agricultural products to consumers, but also the broader supply chain. This paper aims to explore consumer preferences for farm-level production attributes to be included in a blockchain ledger, and how these preferences vary across agricultural product groups and along demographic dimensions. Using a Best-Worst Scaling approach, we analyze preferences for five farm-level production attribute groups (ownership of farm, farm location, inputs, carbon footprint, and water footprint) across five categories of products (meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, coffee and tea, and ornamentals). Our findings reveal that across all product groups, farm inputs are consistently the most preferred attribute to be included in a blockchain ledger. For all categories carbon and water footprint alternate between second and third most preferred, while farm ownership and location are the least preferred.
Description
Keywords
food production, information asymmetry, Lemon's Market, blockchain, transparency and traceability, best-worst scaling
Citation
Smith, S. (2024). Consumer preferences for blockchain technology in agriculture (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.