Consumer and citizen roles and motives in the valuation of agricultural genetic resources in Finland

This study analysed consumer and citizen roles in contingent valuation of a conservation programme of agricultural genetic resources and a native breed product. The willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation programme (€48) was mainly driven by perceived taxpayer responsibility and existence and use motives, while the WTP for the product (price premium of 14%) was to a larger extent associated with perceived purchaser responsibility. We identified four respondent groups: those who emphasized citizens' or consumers' roles, indifferent and negative, which differed in terms of their conservation motivations, responsibility perceptions and WTP. Furthermore, the results emphasize that citizen and consumer roles overlap, and individuals may act as either or both in the context of a purchasing decision and a taxpayers' decision of policy support. Although the conservation programme received more support, future conservation could partly be based on the consumption of specialty products.