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The study uses Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to elicit farmers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for eliminating the risks of crop loss by accessing improved irrigation schemes. Data for the analysis were gathered using a double bounded survey from over 200 randomly-sampled farmers in 15 villages. The study makes a contribution to the applied welfare literature and should also be useful for policymakers in Africa. The policy contribution consists of valuation of improved irrigation in the presence of climate change risks. The applied welfare contribution consists of empirical evidence about the impact of farmer's risk aversion on welfare valuation. Pratt and Zeckhauser (1996) argue on conceptual grounds that in the absence of complete contingent claims market, individual WTP per unit of risk reduction will depend significantly on the level of risk and the magnitude of reduction that is offered. The present study captures individual farmer's risk exposure by constructing an index for farmers' expected rainfall. Since mean WTP is nonlinear in its parameters, mean WTP is computed based on the Krinsky and Robb (1986) method, which simulates the confidence interval and the achieved significance levels (ASL) for testing the null hypothesis that WTP≤0. The results show that farmers with lower expectations about future rainfall are willing to pay more for accessing the improved irrigation scheme. In addition, Mt. Kilimanjaro farmers are willing to pay up to 10% of their income to have access to improved irrigation canals. Assuming a 5% discount rate, the study found that farmers will reimburse the cost of building the irrigation scheme after 7 to 9 years.

Improvement in income in developing countries has led to emergence of middle and high income consumers. In major urban centers there has been rapid expansion of the grocery sections selling variety of leafy vegetables in leading retail stores. This study examines the willing of the urban consumers to pay for quality of leafy vegetables and the drivers of willingness to pay for the quality. It considered a broad range of quality attributes including safety, nutrition, price, sensory, convenience, environmental friendliness, hygiene and ethics. The study found that mean willingness to pay for quality was highest among high income consumers. It also found that confidence and consistency, subjective knowledge, reference point, income and age of children the consumer has were the main explanatory variable for WTP. The study concludes that there is demand for quality of leafy vegetables and discusses policy implications.

The first Mobile for Development Summit provided a unique opportunity to gather first-hand insights from the emerging field of mobile agriculture, and GSMA mAgri team hosted a round-table discussion at the event

WTP can vary non-linearly with other factors. First, WTP depends on peoples understanding of risk (and since most folks do not understand probabilities), they may overestimate or underestimate risk and hence WTP. Another issue is the risk of food borne illness varies from purchase to preparation. If we can reduce foodborne illness by preparation, then WTP would decrease.

WTP can vary non-linearly with other factors. First, WTP depends on peoples understanding of risk (and since most folks do not understand probabilities), they may overestimate or underestimate risk and hence WTP. Another issue is the risk of food borne illness varies from purchase to preparation. If we can reduce foodborne illness by preparation, then WTP would decrease.

 Experimental auctions produced the most realistic results for mean willingness to pay. They are also the most accurate at all budget levels, but also the most expensive. Considering their accuracy and realistic results, we conclude that they should be the recommended method in measuring consumer preference in developing countries, since the extra cost is more than recovered by the gain in accuracy.