Consumer preference for medicinal plants in Oyo Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Ill-health is seen as a great factor that brings about the absenteeism of individuals at work as well as the absence of the person(s) attending to the needs of the sick. This greatly reduces the income that can accrue to individuals due to loss of man days at work which in turn increases the poverty level of individuals. In order to prevent this, curative measures are used. In recent times, there seems to be a drastic shift by some people from orthodox drugs to herbal products in curing their ailments. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the determinants of consumer preferences for medicinal plants in Oyo Metropolis in Nigeria. The methodology employed includes the use of primary data and simple random sampling of 120 respondents from 10 different locations in the study area. The analysis of medicinal plants preference was done by using descriptive and probit model analytical techniques. The result shows that 62% of the respondents have between 1 and 6 persons per household. Preference for medicinal plants is high among male respondents and the married respondents. 72.5% of the respondents that have rural background preferred medicinal plants to prescriptive drugs, while all the respondents with no formal education have preference for medicinal plants. The result of the probit model shows that accessibility of the medicinal plants, knowledge of the potency of the plants and palatability of the plants are the determinants of consumer preference for medicinal plants. Preference for medicinal plants increases with age but decreases with increase in the level of education. It is concluded that the consumption of medicinal plants is still predominant in rural setting, especially among those with rural background and low level of education. It is therefore, recommended that adequate education is given to the rural dwellers on the appropriate usage of medicinal plants by the government at all levels and all the stakeholders in the health ministry and parastatals. Key words: Nigeria, consumer, preference, medicinal plant, health.