Abstract:
Although foot and mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Ethiopia, use of vaccines to control
the disease has been practiced sparingly. This is due to perceived high cost of good quality
FMD vaccine, and consequently limited availability of the vaccine in the market. This study
was conducted to assess farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a quality FMD vaccine and
identify factors that could potentially influence their WTP in Amhara region of Ethiopia. A
total of 398 farmers from four districts that represent the mixed crop-livestock and market
oriented production systems were enrolled for the study. The WTP was estimated using
contingent valuation method with a double-bound dichotomous choice bid design. Interval
regression analysis was used to estimate mean WTP and identify factors that influence it.
The results showed that the mean WTP of all farmers was Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 58.23 (95%
CI: 56.20–60.26)/annual dose. It was ETB 75.23 (95% CI: 72. 97–74.49) for market oriented
farmers and ETB 42.6 (95%CI: 41.24–43.96) for mixed crop livestock farmers. Willingness
to pay for the vaccine was significantly higher for farmers in market oriented system than in
mixed crop livestock system. It was also significantly higher for farmers whose main livelihood is livestock than those whose main livelihood is other than livestock, and for farmers
who keep exotic breed cattle and their crosses than those who keep only local cattle breeds.
Willingness to pay significantly increased with increase in FMD impact perception and vaccine knowledge scores of farmers. The high mean WTP estimates showed that farmers are
enthusiastic about using the FMD vaccine. Market-oriented farmers with higher willingness
to pay may be more likely to pay full cost if official FMD vaccination is planned in the country
than mixed crop livestock farmers. Animal health extension about livestock diseases impact
and vaccines has a potential to increase farmers’ uptake of vaccines for disease control
