Product Knowledge and Product Compliance to Safety Standards as Determinants of Consumer Purchase of Organic Food Products in Anambra State, Nigeria

There has been a significant increase in consciousness, demand and consumption of organic food products in recent times particularly in Anambra State of Nigeria, which stem from the touted health benefits that it offers. Food grown organically are rich in nutrients. As convincing as this view may appear, one still wonders what actually motivates the consumers to purchase these products. Hence, the study investigated the determinants of consumer purchase of organic food products in Anambra State. The specific objectives of the study were to: ascertain the effects of product knowledge and product compliance to safety standards, ase of organic food products in Anambra State. In line with the objectives of this study, two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study was anchored on the consumer behaviour theory propounded by Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB). The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The study population comprised of the consumers of organic food products in Anambra State. The sample size of 384 was drawn using Cochran formula. The convenience sampling method was employed to select the respondents for the study. Structured questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collection. Instruments were designed by the researcher and scored on a four-point Likert Scale.. The reliability of instrument used was test-retest and Cronbach Alpha Analysis. Descriptive statistics (frequency tables and percentages) were employed in analyzing the research questions, while multiple regression analysis was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to process the data. The results of the study showed that product knowledge (β=0.452; p0.000) had significant positive effect on consumer purchase of organic food products in Anambra State. Product compliance to safety standards (β =0.029; p0.560) was found to have no significant effect on consumer purchase of organic food products in Anambra State. On the bases of the above findings, the study concluded that product knowledge is the more significant predictor while product compliance to safety standards is not a significant factor that affects consumer purchase of organic food products. The study therefore recommended among others that stakeholders in the organic food production value chain should invest more to make organic food products available and also create awareness programmes to deepen consumer's knowledge about the benefits of consuming organic food while at the same time reappraise their safety standards.