Understanding the decisional factors affecting consumers' buying behaviour towards organic food products in Kerala

Abstract

Rising concern for health and environmental issues associated with the rigorous use of chemical fertilizers has necessitated an alternate form of agriculture in Kerala, and that's how organic production came into existence. The organic agricultural production technique is considered to be quite conflicting with conventional production technique where the use of human-made fertilizers like pesticides, weedicides and insecticides are entirely banned. Organic products are perceived to be minimally processed to maintain the integrity of the food without artificial ingredients and preservatives. Therefore right from mid-eighties, consumers, particularly from the developed countries, started switching over towards organically produced food products as they more nutritious, healthy, and nature-friendly. Considering the organic market in Kerala, the state is still at its infant stage with a market share of less than 1%. Hence it is critical to investigate Kerala consumers low consumption level towards environmentally friendly products. The current research intents to explore the factors influencing Kerala consumers' organic purchase behaviour based on data collected from 200 respondents (100 regular and 100 irregular organic users) using a structured questionnaire. Analysis techniques comprising of correlation and multiple linear regression has been applied for data evaluation. The research findings support the formulated hypothesis and aim at providing necessary guidelines for various stakeholders who are involved in the organic industry.