Fruits and Vegetables Consumption Behaviour: A Case Study of Rural and Urban Households in the Techiman Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

The study examined the determinants of the consumption of fruits as well as the factors that influence the expenditure on fruits and vegetables among households in the Bono East Region of Ghana. Cragg’s Double Hurdle model was used for the analysis of the determinants and consumption expenditure of fruits, whereas the two-stage least squares regression was used to analyse factors that influence the consumption of vegetables. From the study, gender, fruits health benefit awareness, education, household size, per capita household expenditure (poverty status) influenced the consumption of fruits positively. However, marital status, expenditure on cereals and non-food items negatively influenced the consumption of fruits. In terms of methodological approach, the results showed that the consumption of fruits is a two-stage decision process and not a one-stage decision. From the study, it is recommended that public health education on fruits consumption should be gendered as well as the targeting of school pupils along with other relevant identified segment is likely to have a positive impact. Future studies should consider the separability and selectivity tests for the determination of an appropriate methodological approach.