Organic Food Consumption Research Articles

“Consuming organic food just feels right:” A discursive psychology of how consumers make sense organic foods beyond the reason-intuition distinction

This research uses a discursive psychology and social constructionist approach to examine how organic food patrons think about, experience, and make sense of the organic label as a “boundary concept.” Based on data from 30 in-depth interviews with self-identified organic food consumers, emic and etic coding of consumer narratives reveals the socially constitutive nature of organic food practices. Despite organic food consumers’ understanding of what organic means, their meaning-making process derives from a certain kind of nostalgia for their childhood meal experience and upbringing, family values, because “it tastes better,” and “just feels right.” While consumer knowledge aligns with the analytical sensemaking system, the second group of factors is associated with the experiential system. Hence, leveraging nostalgia appeals in organic food advertising holds promise for mainstreaming organic food consumption practices in marketing contexts such as the U.S., where environmental attitudes are associated with political ideologies and thus polarizing.

Diet, but not food type, significantly affects micronutrient and toxic metal profiles in urine and/or plasma; a randomized, controlled intervention trial

Observational studies have linked Mediterranean Diets (MedDiets) and organic food consumption with positive health outcomes, which may be explained by higher mineral micronutrient and phenolic intake and lower dietary exposure to toxic compounds. We aimed to determine the effects of diet and food type (organic compared with conventional) on urinary excretion (UE) and/or plasma concentrations of mineral micronutrients, phenolics, and toxic metals. Healthy adult participants were randomly allocated to a conventional (n = 14) or an intervention (n = 13) group. During a 2-wk period, the intervention group consumed a MedDiet made entirely from organic foods, whereas the conventional group consumed a MedDiet made from conventional foods. Before and after the intervention period, both groups consumed their habitual Western diets made from conventional foods. The primary outcome was UE and/or plasma concentrations of selected mineral micronutrients, toxic metals, and phenolic markers. In addition, we monitored diets using food diaries. The participants were aware of study group assignment, but the study assessors were not. Changing from a Western Diet to a MedDiet for 2 wk resulted in significant increases in UE of total phenolics and salicylic acid (by 46% and 45%, respectively), the mineral micronutrients Co, I, and Mn (by 211%, 70%, and 102%, respectively), and the toxic metal Ni (by 42%), and plasma Se concentrations (by 14%). However, no significant effects of food type (organic compared with conventional) were detected. Redundancy analysis identified vegetables, coffee, wine, and fruit as positive drivers for UE of phenolic markers and mineral micronutrients, and fish consumption as a positive driver for UE of Cd and Pb. Although small effects of food type cannot be ruled out, our study suggests that only changing to a MedDiet with higher fruit and vegetable, and lower meat, consumption results in a large increase in phenolic and mineral micronutrient intakes. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03254537.

The effect of an organic food intervention treatment on biomarkers of exposure to lead and cadmium in primary school children of Cyprus: A cluster-randomized crossover trial

BackgroundFood contaminants, such as, pesticides and metals are ubiquitous in the food chain. Studies routinely report on the metals content of organic and conventional food crops. However, comparative human studies on the body burden of metals associated with organic food consumption are currently lacking. ObjectivesThe objectives were to i) determine the effectiveness of an organic food intervention in reducing the body burden of urinary concentration of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) and ii) evaluate the association between metal exposures and biomarkers of oxidative damage in primary school children in Cyprus. MethodsThis study was part of the ORGANIKO cluster-randomized crossover trial, a 40-day organic food treatment to 149 healthy children (10–12 years) in Cyprus. Urinary biomarkers of Pb and Cd were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Linear mixed-effect regression models were used to account for the effect and duration of the organic food treatment. Multiple comparisons were handled using Benjamini-Hochberg correction. ResultsA time-dependent reduction for creatinine-adjusted Pb during the intervention period was observed (β = −0.021; 95% CI: −0.034, −0.008; p-adjusted = 0.01). A similar trend was observed for creatinine-adjusted Cd, but it was not significant (β = −0.013; 95% CI: −0.026, 0.000; p-adjusted = 0.15). The creatinine-adjusted oxidative damage biomarkers were significantly associated with both metal biomarkers; Pb (8-OHdG: β = 0.388, 95% CI: 0.303, 0.472; p-adjusted<0.001; MDA: β = 0.187, 95% CI: 0.109, 0.265; p-adjusted<0.001; 8-iso-PGF2a: β = 0.320, 95% CI: 0.244, 0.397; p-adjusted<0.001), and Cd (8-OHdG: β = 0.148, 95% CI: 0.063, 0.233; p-adjusted = 0.003; MDA: β = 0.107, 95% CI: 0.030, 0.184; p-adjusted = 0.018; 8-iso-PGF2a: β = 0.263, 95% CI: 0.186, 0.339; p-adjusted<0.001). DiscussionA 40-day organic food treatment reduced primary school children's exposures to Pb over time. More human studies in settings with high food contaminant profiles across common crops are warranted.

Hostile media perceptions and consumption of genetically modified and organic foods: Examining the mediating role of risk-benefit assessments.

Drawing upon the hostile media effect, this study examined how perceived media bias in covering genetically modified (GM) food influences individuals' risk-benefit assessments of it and their food consumption behaviors. The results of a nationally representative survey (N=1364) showed that individuals seeing media coverage as more biased in favor of GM food perceived it as more hazardous, which was related to a higher proportion of organic food consumption in their diets. In contrast, perceived media coverage as less slanted toward GM food was associated with more benefit perceptions of it, thereby predicting its higher proportion in individuals' diets. More importantly, the indirect effect of perceived media bias on GM food consumption through benefit perceptions was more pronounced among males than females. The findings of this study not only provide empirical evidence of the perceptual and behavioral outcomes of hostile media perceptions, but also offer valuable insights for journalists and education practitioners to improve public understanding of emerging food technologies.

Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in changes in a Mediterranean lifestyle among elderly Italians

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of restrictive measurements to control the SARS-CoV-2 spread disrupted general population lifestyles including dietary behaviours. However, there is poor knowledge on potential socioeconomic and gender disparities in dietary changes. We conducted a telephone-based survey during fall 2020 on a sample of 4,400 participants representative of the population aged 65-99 years living in Lombardy, Italy. Changes in a Mediterranean lifestyle were assessed retrospectively by asking participants to report modifications in the consumption of nine food groups and five diet-related behaviours (e.g., consumption of organic and local foods) compared to the previous year (2019). We then computed a Mediterranean COVID-19 Pandemic Score (MedCovid-19 Score), reflecting changes during pandemic, ranging from -14 to 14, with increasing values indicating improvements in line with a Mediterranean lifestyle. Overall, 18.3% of the study participants worsened their Mediterranean lifestyle (MedCovid-19 Score &amp;lt;0), 35.1% remained stable (MedCovid-19 Score = 0), while 46.6% reported improvements (MedCovid-19 Score ≥1). Predictors of favourable changes toward a Mediterranean lifestyle were educational level (OR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.19-1.95 for postgraduate vs lower education), wealth (OR = 1.52; 1.14-2.02 for high vs low wealth), and skilled manual occupations (OR = 1.57; 1.28-1.92 vs white collars). Women were more likely than men to move away from a Mediterranean lifestyle (OR = 1.86; 1.58-2.21). In conclusion, improvements in line with a Mediterranean lifestyle prevailed in almost half of a large sample of elderly Italians surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, changes towards a Mediterranean lifestyle were disproportionately distributed across gender and socioeconomic strata. These findings were similar to those from the general population of the Moli-sani study, where it was observed that healthful dietary changes were associated greater wealth.

Environmental and Health Factors as Organic Fruit Purchase Drivers and the Mediating Role of Price and Effort

This article analyzes the organic fruit consumption behavior associated with environmental and health care. The literature review focused on the relationship between attitudes and perceptions of health care through the organic food consumption, and on the other hand, the association between the organic products consumer behavior and environmental care. The methodology included a theoretical relationship model proposed, considering different constructs provided by previous literature to measure motivations, fears and attitudes associated with the intention to purchase organic fruit, once the methods that confirm their validity and reliability were applied to evaluate seven direct relationship hypotheses, three indirect relationship hypotheses and two moderation hypotheses. As result, nine hypotheses are supported, being health and environmental motivations drivers of the attitude towards organic fruit and the intention to purchase organic fruit, intention that is reinforced by the positive attitude towards these foods but is moderated by the perceived price and the purchase effort.

Influence of Customer Perceived Values on Organic Food Consumption Behaviour: Mediating Role of Green Purchase Intention

Despite the growing popularity of organic food around the globe, there is a dearth of research that has focused on the relationship between customer perceived values and organic food consumption behaviour. The study used cross-sectional data from 202 Indian customers to examine how perceived values such as health, hedonic and social affect consumers’ green purchasing attitude towards organic foods, especially organic fruits and vegetables (OF&amp;V) using an extended value–attitude–behaviour hierarchy (VABH). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the association among the constructs. The findings posit that perceived health, hedonic and social value positively influence consumers’ green purchase attitude (GPA), which in turn influences green purchase intention (GPI), which significantly leads to green purchase behaviour (GPB) towards OF&amp;V. Hedonic value was found to be the strongest motivating reason for Indian customers to buy OF&amp;V. The mediating role of GPI between GPA and GPB has also been confirmed. The study is unique in investigating how consumers’ hedonic and health values impact their attitudes, intentions and actual purchasing behaviour towards OF&amp;V in one of the major food producing countries.

Value acquisition, value co-creation: The impact of perceived organic grocerant value on customer engagement behavior through brand trust.

Affected by COVID-19, there is a growing trend toward healthy lifestyles and organic food consumption. The literature on organic foods focuses on the factors that influence buying behavior. A thriving organic business requires both sustained consumption and consumer contributions beyond the purchase—customer engagement behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that may drive member customers to engage with organic grocerants. This study surveyed 280 Chinese member customers of an organic grocerant to explore how to drive customer engagement behavior. Based on value co-creation theory and the customer engagement literature, this study proposed a “value acquisition–value co-creation” framework to explore the relationship between perceived value, brand trust, and customer engagement behavior. The results show that emotional and social value can directly and effectively motivate customer engagement behavior in organic grocerants. However, consumers’ perceived quality value and price value will not directly affect customer engagement behavior but instead indirectly affect it through brand trust. Furthermore, improving the perceived value of emotion, quality and price can strengthen brand trust in organic grocerants. The study confirms that brand trust is critical to organic grocerant and customer engagement. Our findings provide a new perspective for understanding the relationship between the value customers receive from organic food consumption and value co-creation through customer engagement behavior.

Consumers' Perception towards Organic Products before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bihor County, Romania.

Organic products have grown ever more popular in recent years due to increased concerns regarding one’s health, the environment, and sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this growth, prompting producers to adapt to a rapidly growing market while maintaining the same standard of quality. We have conducted a questionnaire-based pilot study on 190 organic food consumers from Bihor county, Romania, in order to analyze the main factors influencing customers’ beliefs regarding organic food consumption, as well as assess the extent to which their consumption frequency changed after the pandemic. A principal component analysis was performed, dividing the factors into two categories referring to intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the products, respectively. It was noticed that the most important cues were ranked the same by our 190 respondents, regardless of their socio-demographical background. At the same time, people who consumed organic products more frequently before the pandemic have either maintained or increased their consumption, while more indifferent consumers maintained or decreased the proportion of organic foods in their diet.

Analysis of the impacts of social class and lifestyle on consumption of organic foods in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of social class and lifestyle on the consumption of organic foods in South Korea. Consumer behavior regarding organic foods is influenced by lifestyle, as well as income-level and education. This study provides a new perspective on the socio-economic structure of organic food consumption patterns in urban areas by extracting information from big data. The organic food consumption patterns are then analyzed through visualization of the geographical distribution of organic food stores. In addition, this study estimates the effects of social class and lifestyle variables on the consumption of organic foods based on survey data. This study finds that social class characteristics are factors that influence the consumption of organic foods. However, individual lifestyle plays a more important role in actual buying behavior.

Influence of Food Safety Concerns and Satisfaction with Government Regulation on Organic Food Consumption of Chinese Urban Residents.

In order to study the impact of food safety concerns and government regulation on Chinese urban residents’ organic food consumption willingness and behavior, an “online + offline” survey of 799 urban residents in Beijing has been conducted. Based on the theory of planned behavior, a structural equation model (SEM) was established and the government’s food production support regulation (GP) and sales guarantee regulation (GC) were incorporated separately into the SEM as moderator variables. The path influence coefficients of respondents’ food safety concerns, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on organic food consumption willingness were 0.065 (p < 0.05), 0.174 (p < 0.01) and 0.574 (p < 0.01), respectively. The influence of GP on organic food consumption willingness was 0.243 (p < 0.01), but its moderating effect on the promotion effect of food safety concerns and attitude to organic food consumption willingness was −0.001 (p < 0.01). The moderating effect of GC on the transformation from consumption willingness to behavior was 0.083 (p < 0.05). The results show that respondents attach the most importance to the comparison of costs and the benefits of organic food. Although the government’s food production regulation will weaken the driving effect of food safety concern and benefit perception of organic food consumption willingness, it will still promote organic food consumption willingness on the whole. The government’s supervision of food processing and sales is conducive to the occurrence of organic food consumption behavior.

Exploring attitude-behaviour inconsistencies in organic food consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Many consumers have shown positive attitude towards green consumption; nevertheless, these attitudes do not necessarily translate into intention and or behaviours. Human consumption patterns are responsible for approximately 40% of environmental challenges; therefore, consumer decisions and behaviours have a big impact on the environment. Food consumption is known to have an important impact on public health, individuals, and the environment. Organic food purchase is widely known to promote sustainable attitudes and lifestyles. The disparity between green concern (having a positive attitude and or intention) and green behaviour (the act of purchasing and consuming organic food) is known as the attitude-behaviour inconsistency or green gap in the scholarly sphere. To explore the attitude-behaviour inconsistency, this study employs exogenous influences such as motives and barriers which extends the original theory of planned behaviour. This qualitative study which was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic involved 22 key respondents’ residents in the Klang Valley, Malaysia (KVM) using key informant interviews and interpretive phenomenological analysis. The findings indicated motives and barriers to purchase, coexist with a positive attitude (endogenous influence) and favourable intentions, resulting in real behaviour or purchase not being possible; therefore, the attitude-behavioural inconsistencies. To band the attitude-behaviour inconsistency, it is proposed that decision makers such as government agencies create a national environmental certification procedure and logo that verifies companies' environmental claims. Assisting the government, the private sector should be more proactive in implementing green lifestyle initiatives in their corporate policies and when conducting business.

Organic food consumption and fecundability in a preconception cohort study of Danish couples trying to conceive.

Little is known about potential health effects of eating organic food in relation to reproduction. We examined associations between organic food consumption and fecundability. Data were derived from a preconception cohort study of Danish couples trying to conceive (SnartForaeldre.dk, SF). Participants completed a baseline questionnaire on socio-demographics, anthropometrics and lifestyle and a validated food-frequency questionnaire, which included questions on proportions of organic food consumed within six food groups. Participants were followed up with bimonthly questionnaires for up to 12 months or until pregnancy. Analyses were restricted to 2061 participants attempting pregnancy for ≤6cycles at enrollment and 1303 with <3cycles. Fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by proportional probabilities regression models adjusted for potential confounders including age, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. Associations were examined for vegetables, fruits, cereals, dairy products, eggs and meat, separately, and for the overall pattern of organic food consumption (organic sum score). The final analytic sample comprised 2069 participants. In the full cohort, organic food consumption was not meaningfully associated with fecundability. Among participants <3cycles of pregnancy attempt at study entry (n=1303), the FR was 1.11 (95% CI 0.93, 1.33) for the category 'less than half', for 'more than half' the FR was 1.17 (95% CI 0.99, 1.38) and for 'almost everything' the FR was 1.12 (95% CI 0.97, 1.28). Higher consumption of organic foods was not meaningfully associated with fecundability, although slightly greater fecundability was seen among participants with <3cycles of pregnancy attempt time.

Deployment of the Microeconomic Consumer Theory in the Artificial Neural Networks Modelling: Case of Organic Food Consumption

Organic food consumption has become a significant trend in consumer behaviour, determined by various motives, among which the price does not play a major role, thus reflecting the Lancaster approach to the microeconomic consumer theory. Additionally, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have proven to have significant potential in providing accurate and efficient models for predicting consumer behaviour. Considering these two trends, this study aims to deploy the Lancaster approach in the emerging area of artificial intelligence. The paper aims to develop the ANN-based predictive model to investigate the relationship between organic food consumption, demographic characteristics, and health awareness attitudes. Survey research has been conducted on a sample of Croatian inhabitants, and ANN models have been used to assess the importance of various determinants for organic food consumption. A Three-layer Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks (MLPNN) structure has been constructed and validated to select the optimal number of neurons and transfer functions. One layer is used as the first input, while the other two are hidden layers (the first covers the radially symmetrical input, sigmoid function; the second covers the output, softmax function). Three versions of the testing, training, and holdout data structures were used to develop ANNs. The highest accuracy was achieved with a 7-2-1 partition. The best ANN model was determined as the model that was showing the smallest percent of incorrect predictions in the holdout stage, the second-lowest cross-entropy error, the correct classification rate, and the area under the ROC curve. The research results show that the availability of healthy food shops and consumer awareness of these shops strongly impacts organic food consumption. Using the ANN methodology, this analysis confirmed the validity of the Lancaster approach, stating that the characteristics or attributes of goods are defined by the consumer and not by the product itself.

A case study on beliefs of Organic food consumers

Nowadays, consumers are attempting to make conscious food decisions and favour organic food over its alternatives. An increasing number of research studies show the interest of the academic sector in exploring this changed attitude. Due to their importance in attitude formation, the need arises to comprehend the beliefs of the organic food consumers in depth. The current study tries to explore consumers’ beliefs (behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs) about organic food in detail. As the exploration of these beliefs requires specific observations, this study is based on qualitative data focusing on consumers’ beliefs about organic food. Data is collected through personal interviews with the respondents in five cities of Punjab and Haryana with a total of 20 participants. Results indicate that consumers perceive organic food as healthy, chemical-free and tasty. High price emerged as a major control belief which limits their purchase and family is most influential in their purchase decisions. The results imply that a quantitative study on beliefs about organic food would be useful to investigate these findings in a larger sample since these findings have several marketing and advertising implications.

Does gender moderate the purchase intention of organic foods? Theory of reasoned action

PurposeThis study examines the role of gender as a moderator on the relationships between subjective norm on attitude and purchase intention and attitude on purchase intention by using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) among organic food consumers. MethodologyData is collected using a crowdsourcing platform called Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The respondents are organic food consumers (N = 633) from the US. The proposed model is tested using AMOS by covariance-based structural equation modelling and tested for multi-group moderation. FindingsThe model is fit. The results of multi-group moderation show that gender moderates the two relationships: subjective norm on attitude and attitude on purchase intention, but not the third one, i.e., subjective norm and attitude. All the direct hypotheses are supported. This research found that males and females differ in purchasing intention toward organic food. OriginalityThis is the first study in the organic food context that tested subjective norm – attitude, attitude – purchase intention, and subjective norm—attitude using the theory of reasoned action.

Purchase intention of organic foods: are lifestyles of health and sustainability the reason for my purchase decision?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of scarcity and the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) consumption tendency on the purchase intention of organic foods. The study used the protection motivation theory and the stimulus-organism-response theory to understand the impact of comparatively new variables like “perceived scarcity” and “perceived consumer effectiveness” (PCE) on the consumer's organic food purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe study is using structural equation modeling with 402 organic food consumers. The participants are regular consumers who bought organic food from specialized shops and supermarkets in the previous few months. The data has been collected at organic food specialized shops and supermarkets that sell organic foods.FindingsThe results showed that LOHAS consumption tendency (LCT), scarcity and PCE positively affect attitude. Similarly, LCT and PCE direct affect trust. Scarcity and PCE directly positive impact on purchase intention of organic food products. Interestingly, LCT had no direct impact on the purchase intention of the product. Trust and attitude were found to be significant mediators impacting purchase intention.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the past theoretical literature on LOHAS consumption by analyzing new constructs like scarcity and PCE in the context of organic food consumption. These findings will be crucial for marketers planning to launch organic products in new markets.

Toward a better understanding of the attitude–behavior gap in organic food conative loyalty: a moderation and moderated mediation analysis

PurposePrevious research has found mixed evidence of an attitude–behavior gap in organic food consumption. However, the complex mechanisms underlying this gap warrant further investigation. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of word-of-mouth (WOM), trust, and involvement in the relationship between consumer organic food attitudes and conative loyalty. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as underlying framework for modeling our conceptualized arguments.Design/methodology/approachA moderation and moderated mediation analysis was performed on a cross-sectional sample of 1,011 Australian organic food consumers.FindingsThe results support the TPB-inspired moderated-mediation model. Specifically, the authors found moderated mediation effects of WOM, trust, and involvement on conative loyalty via attitudes toward organics.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional research design and the focus solely on Australian consumers constitute limitations of this study.Practical implicationsThe authors' findings imply that an analysis of the attitude–behavior gap should go beyond the testing of contingent consistency hypotheses and instead combine moderation and mediation mechanisms to better model consumer decision-making leading to conative loyalty. Practitioners would face a resource challenge when targeting low-trust, low-involvement, and low-WOM consumers as developing conative loyalty of these segments would require a longer-term approach through building favorable attitudes toward organic foods.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to demonstrate the potential of examining the attitude–behavior gap in the organic food context through a moderated mediation lens in explaining the dynamics of conative loyalty.

Antimicrobial potential of ozone for the storage of grains: special focus on inhibition of bacterial contamination

Ozone (O3) is known as the powerful oxidant and has several beneficial applications, especially in biotechnology and agricultural industries. Ozone can be easily created on site with the use of electricity and air. Ozone is a safe antioxidant when used as a substitute to toxic chemical-based pesticides for the storage of grains. As the awareness and preference is augmenting among the people for consumption of organic foods; in this condition, O3 can play the major role as an effective and non-hazardous decontaminant. The O3 has half-life of 20–50 minutes because it rapidly decomposes to diatomic oxygen (O2), and leaving no harmful residue on the surface of grains. The, decayed O3 releases a single O2 atom that is highly reactive towards the cell membrane of bacteria and attacks the cellular components and disrupts normal cellular activity. It has been reported that, O3 at 350 to 600 ppm-h can show highly destructive effects on bacterial and fungal vegetative cells. On the other hand, it is also important to optimize the dose of O3 from species to species and genus of the different bacteria. Some strains of Escherichia coli are resistant to the lower dosage of O3. On overall analysis of scientific opinion and recent outcomes of the laboratory results, we strongly recommend that the use of O3 for the storage of grains should be further investigated and utilized at large scale. Preservation of grains by the use of O3 is also an ecofriendly and considered as a customer-caring method to reduce food pathogens from seed grains without applying any toxic chemicals.

Performance Evaluation of Organic and Conventional Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Production in the West Region of Cameroon: An Economic Policy Review

Aims: To describe the socio-economic characteristics of potato producers, compare the performance and identify production challenges of organic and conventional potato production in the West region of Cameroon.&#x0D; Study Design and Methodology: The study population refers to the conventional and organic potato producers in the West region of Cameroon. Purposive and snowball sampling technique were used in this study. A total sample size of 200 respondents was identified, 148 conventional farmers and 52 organic farmers. Out of 200 farmers interviewed, 55 from Mifi division (11 organic and 44 conventional) and 145 from Menoua division (41 organic and 104 conventional).&#x0D; Results: Results revealed that majority of potato producers in the West region of Cameroon are male, 70.3% conventional farmers and 88.5% organic farmers. Most farmers are married (73% conventional and 78.9% organic farmers) and practiced livestock rearing in addition to potato production. Also, most farmers (59.5% conventional farmers and 59.6% organic farmers) have secondary education as their highest level of formal education. Information on yield revealed a productivity gap and production cost between conventional and organic potato farmers with a positive mean difference of 7,102.877kg and 765,184 frs respectively, significant at 5% level in favour of conventional farmers. Similarly, results showed a gap in revenue and gross margin between the two categories of farmers with a positive mean difference of 1,233,240 frs and 465,475.4 frs respectively, significant at 5% level in favour of conventional farmers. Analysis showed that 50% of conventional farmers interviewed noted rainfall variation as the main challenge faced in production while 80% of organic farmers have low seed quality as the main challenge.&#x0D; Conclusion: Conventional potato farmers are better off than organic potato farmers in terms of yield and gross margins, thus bringing to limelight the question concerning the popular push of organic foods consumption as regard potato.