Understanding food choice factors of rural households from northwest Vietnam
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies
ISSN: 2044-0839
Article publication date: 12 May 2022
Issue publication date: 21 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the food choice motivations of rural households using a cross-sectional dataset of 510 households from northwest Vietnam interviewed in 2016.
Design/methodology/approach
A modified Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) is used to assess factors related to food choice and explore relationships between food choice factors, diet quality and various sociodemographic characteristics.
Findings
Results show four distinct food choice factors: “Natural and healthy,” “Familiarity,” “Balanced diet” and “Convenience.” Two distinct consumer clusters are identified: “Health-conscious” households and “Pragmatic” households. “Health-conscious” households rank “Balanced diet” and “Natural and healthy” highly, while “Pragmatic” households prioritize “Convenience” and “Familiarity.” “Health-conscious” households have significantly more diverse diets, are wealthier and have a greater geographic concentration in the high vegetable density per capita-high elevation areas (36%). Their main food preparers are more educated and about 13% have Kinh ethnicity.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is warranted to explore the temporal dimension of parental food choice motivations given the changing agrifood system in Vietnam.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few studies that assess the food choice motivations among ethnic minority groups in a rural setting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), Lao Cai Department of Crop Production and Crop Protection, Mekong Development Research Institute (MDRI), Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) and Oikoi (formerly Agricultural Impact International) for their immense assistance during the survey implementation. Huge appreciation also goes to the district, commune and village leaders and to all the smallholder farmers who participated in the ethnographic study, questionnaire pre-testing and the rural household surveys.
Citation
Genova, C., Umberger, W., Newman, S. and Peralta, A. (2023), "Understanding food choice factors of rural households from northwest Vietnam", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 775-796. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-12-2021-0320
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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