Consumer preferences and stated willingness to pay for tomatoes grown under agri-photovoltaic systems in North-Central Namibia: insights from a sensory experiment and simple preference choice task

Tomato production in Namibia provides significant opportunities to improve food security and strengthen local economies, however, it is constrained by climate change impacts, such as high temperatures. Agri-Photovoltaic systems offer a novel solution mitigating climate risks while generating energy. This study evaluated consumer preferences and stated willingness to pay for tomatoes cultivated under chequered and opaque agri-Photovoltaic shaded conditions in comparison to open-field conditions conducted in Ogongo Constituency North-Central Namibia. A sample of 119 participants was selected for sensory evaluation and stat. Preliminary data analysis employed descriptive statistics, a truncated regression model which revealed that income level emerged as the key determinant of the stated willingness to pay across all treatments at p < 0.01 (open-field and chequered) and p < 0.05 (opaque), Kendall’s coefficient of concordance of 0.02 indicating low consensus of treatment preferences among participants, and lastly an analysis of variance revealed no statistically significant differences in stated willingness to pay across treatments, although the opaque treatment recorded the highest mean value (N$16.4). Attributes size, shape and firmness statistically differed across treatments at p < 0.01. Despite the altered growing conditions, consumer acceptance of agri-Photovoltaic tomatoes has remained positive, suggesting that implementing agri-Photovoltaic in tomato production would not negatively impact economic and market viability, as consumer demand for this product remains strong.