LCA Food 2012 in Saint Malo, France! - Manifestations et colloques ...

PARALLEL SESSION 7A: CONSUMERS 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
explained by the urbanisation taking place in Malaysia; the proportion of population in Malaysia which is
urban increased from 62% to 71% during the period 2000 to 2010 (DOS, 2011).
Perhaps one of the most interesting findings of the current study was consumer perception of the effect of
poultry production on environmental quality. Respondents believed that the major contribution to environmental
impact came from manure management and only 5% considered that the production of poultry feed
contributed to environmental problems. In contrast, the LCA results showed that between 74 to 95% of environmental
burdens were derived from feed (including the production, transportation and processing) for
broiler chickens and breeder hens, and only 2.3 to 24% burdens resulted from manure handling. This contradiction
can be explained by the difficulties of consumers in understanding the nature of broiler production in
detail, coupled with non-visibility of the negative impacts in the short term. Thus, consumers may have considered
the impacts of feed production, which occurred to a significant extent overseas, to be small when
compared to other economic activities which produce visual effects, such as smoke from factories which can
have a very large influence on public perception.
Even though the mean WTP values showed regional variation, the median values at both national and regional
levels confirmed that many respondents were willing to pay 10% more than they currently paid for
chicken meat produced with a higher regard for the environment. These two parameters can have quite different
interpretations at the macro level of development planning. The mean WTP values have been used to
determine the value of the benefit, which reflects the consumer behaviour and demand characteristics, and
has high relevance for the purpose of cost-benefit analysis. Therefore if the mean benefit value outweighs the
mean costs, this suggests that the proposal should proceed. On the other hand the median value indicates
likely public motivation and choices, since it corresponds to the value which represents the majority endorsement.
Respondents in the northern and eastern regions of Malaysia already have to pay 0.3 to 2.4%
higher than the national average price for chicken, mainly as a result of the transportation and storage costs.
Respondents from the northern region with mean WTP at 9.9%, which was the lowest value of all regions,
may have been heavily influenced by the fact their incomes are generally lower than those of people in other
regions.
5. Conclusions
The results suggest that the CH system was the least environmentally impacting of the three Malaysian
broiler production systems considered for all impact categories, producing approximately 12 to 40% less
impact than the highest contributor which was the SI system. Broiler and breeder feed-related resources
accounted for almost three quarters of the total impact values, followed by other on-farm inputs and emissions
produced. In relation to consumers’ WTP for favourable environmental quality as a result of more environmental-friendly
broiler production, half of the respondents were willing to pay an increment of 10%
above market price in all regions, with type of occupation and the number of persons in the household determining
the pattern of WTP among consumers. The analysis of the interaction of these agro-ecological and
socio-economic findings, together with a comprehensive policy intervention, could be useful to determine
best practice to ensure sustainable broiler production in Malaysia.
6. References
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