Farmers' Willingness to Pay a Premium for Certified Maize Seeds in China

ABSTRACT China is one of the world's major grain importers. Currently, the country is actively promoting the adoption of certified seeds to improve agricultural productivity and bolster food security, especially grain security. However, a relatively low willingness to adopt certified seeds remains a significant barrier for certified seed promotion in many countries, including China. This study estimates farmers' willingness to pay a premium (WTPP) for certified maize seeds using the double‐bounded contingent valuation method (CVM) and survey data from 834 maize farmers in China. The results indicate that, on average, Chinese farmers are willing to pay a 31.78% premium for certified maize seeds compared to uncertified seeds. Farmers' WTPP for certified maize seeds varies significantly by level of awareness of certified seeds, farm size, experience with agricultural technology training, and region. Specifically, farmers familiar with certified seeds have a WTPP that is 5.213 percentage points higher than those who are unfamiliar; each additional hectare of farm size raises farmers' WTPP by 2.998 percentage points; and participation in agricultural technology training increases farmers' WTPP by 6.902 percentage points. Therefore, it is important to improve farmers' awareness and WTPP for certified seeds by expanding agricultural technology training, establishing demonstration bases, and enhancing outreach and publicity. These efforts can help promote wider adoption of certified seeds among farmers.