Regional differences in farmers’ preferences for a native bee conservation policy: The case of farming communities in Northern and Eastern Thailand

Abstract

Evidence points to past bee-mediated crop pollination deficits in Chanthaburi province, Eastern Thailand. Conversely, no such evidence has yet been reported for Chiang Mai province (Northern Thailand), suggesting that wild pollination is delivered there above the requirements of local orchards. Discrete choice experiments (DCE) were conducted to elicit the preferences of pollinator-dependent orchard farmers with regard to three pollinator conservation measures and their possible effects on of native bee populations in each region. We fitted random parameter logit (RPL) models on the resulting data to capture preference heterogeneity and to obtain willingness to pay (WTP) point estimates. To test our results’ robustness, we also inspected for scale heterogeneity by fitting generalized mixed logit (GMXL) models on the pooled and individual datasets. This yielded WTP space estimates (i.e., directly from WTP distributions) and made possible the comparison of farmers’ preferences for a native bee conservation policy in both regions. The results hint at significant WTP differences for some of the conservation policy attributes between both provinces. Furthermore, unobserved contributions to choice seem to have been more random in Chiang Mai. Our analyses also suggest that farmers who engage in bee-related activities are WTP more for a conservation policy that includes bee husbandry.

How to Make a Smartphone-Based App for Agricultural Advice Attractive: Insights from a Choice Experiment in Mexico

“…Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are suitable methods to elicit preferences for product characteristics when a product is new or not yet commercially available [13]. DCEs are gaining interest in agricultural research and have been used recently, for example, to study preferences regarding interactions with markets with focus on certification or contracts [14][15][16] or preferences for crop characteristics [17][18][19] or farming practices such as the use of inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, or the application of conservation measures [20][21][22][23][24] and also to investigate preferences regarding agricultural or environmental policies [25][26][27][28].…”