DETERMINANTES DEL CONSUMO DE PRODUCTOS ORGÁNICOS: CASO DE ESTUDIO LOJA, ECUADOR

Abstract

The present research analyzes the influence of economic, sociodemographic, psychographic and knowledge variables on the probability that households get to consume organic products in Loja, Ecuador, during 2015. The data was taken from a survey of 397 households from both urban and rural sector; with this information, an estimation of a logistic regression model was made. The results allowed us to conclude that only psychographic variables, such as the attitude of households towards the environment and knowledge about the benefits of consuming this type of products, have a positive and significant influence on the probability of consuming organic products. That is, if households are concerned about the problems that affect the environment and know the advantages of consuming organic products, the probability that they consume these types of products will increase. In contrast, economic variables such as income, and sociodemographic variables like gender, age, marital status, level of education, number of household members and the area of residence are not good predictors of the consumption of organic products. A policy implication derived from the results is to organize dissemination campaigns about the benefits brought by the consumption of organic products, both for health of the people and for the environment; also create spaces for organic farmers to inform the public about the offer of their products.