Growing their own: Unobservable quality and the value of self-provisioning
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Many important food quality and safety attributes are unobservable at the point
of sale, particularly in informal markets with weak reputation effects. Through
a framed field experiment conducted in western Kenya, we show that farmers
place a large premium on maize they have grown themselves, relative to that
available for purchase. Providing information on the origin of maize, and on its
taste and safety, reduces this gap. We conclude that information which is
unavailable during typical market transactions is important to how consumers
value maize, and that imperfect information may contribute to the prevalence
of agricultural production for subsistence needs in developing countries.