Feasibility of Forming Markets for Indigenous Peoples’ Organic Products

Abstract

Iranian nomads’ meat and dairy products are organic and more valuable than conventional products for trading and supplying in local markets. This is due to the use of natural nutritional supplementation, without hormones and artificial chemicals, in breeding domestic animals. However, the real value of the organic products is not reflected in the market. In this regard, we studied the feasibility of forming a local market for nomads’ organic meat and milk products in Iran. This study used a sample of 366 questionnaires from nomads of five famous tribes, namely Soleimani, Mehni, Kochomi, Jebalbarezi, and Aieneyi in Kerman province and 794 questionnaires from non-nomadic consumers. The results indicate that nomads’ average willingness to accept (WTA) was 0.46 USD per liter and 5.64 USD per kg in the sale of organic milk and organic meat, respectively. Also, the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for organic milk and organic meat was 0.50 USD per liter and 6.15 USD per kg, respectively. Since the WTA for both products was less than the WTP, the formation and development of local markets in supplying organic products are possible. The appropriate price policy for organic products in such markets can provide nomads with financial benefits and consumers with access to healthy foods.

1. Introduction

Since the 1950s, the Green Revolution (GR) has wiped out local indigenous farming techniques and promoted conventional farming that implements the technologies of agrochemicals, machinery, and irrigation to enhance food production and productivity [1]. Consequently, the GR has caused an unsustainable farm enterprise [1], increasing agrifood system emissions from 14.2 to 16.1 billion tons of CO₂-eq during 1990–2020 [2]. Therefore, multinational dialogue targeting sustainable agriculture has taken place annually at World Food Summits, giving rise to a plan of action that implements appropriate technologies such as organic farming to promote agroecosystem health, sustainable use of water and soil, and food security to mitigate emissions in agriculture [3]. Organic farmers combine ecological practices, natural resource protection, and a high level of biodiversity, as well as apply animal welfare standards to produce organic products. Organic farming is a complicated concept and encompasses more than eliminating agrochemicals. Farmers need to consider different management levels of socioeconomic, geo-climate, and cultural characteristics, which are all under the sustainable development concept. By means of appropriate federal policies, organic farming has already begun to grow in the developed world, such as in the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Australia. It is also receiving attention in developing nations in Africa, Latin America, and Asia [4]. However, all nations have the extant heritage of indigenous, nomad, and other local communities’ knowledge of organic farming and sustainable agriculture.

Nomads are one of the main minorities and indigenous peoples in Iran [5]. Nomadism, a lifestyle that follows the elementary law of safeguarding survival, has been considered a culture of primitivity and backwardness, as some people believe that a settled life is a requirement for civilization [6]. Relative mobility is one main feature of nomadism from an environmental perspective [7]. From a behavioral perspective, nomads’ “pride, … hauteur, and a strong sense of individual worth and a strong sense of nobility” make nomadism a male-dominated lifestyle [8]. On the other hand, nomadism has some values that the modern world can learn from. Experts nowadays promote a sustainable livelihood to resolve economic issues [9], and nomadism can help because it implements a nature-oriented and not a nature-dominated production approach [6].

In Iran, nomads constitute one important local social structure. The pastoral nomads are those whose subsistence is based on traditional animal husbandry. To turn cattle out to pasture and sustain life, they have regular, seasonal movements in summer and winter seasons and often use black tents, gazebos, and a variety of portable shelters for the whole or part of a year [10]. They produce organic and healthy meat and dairy products due to the use of natural pastures in pristine areas [10].

Despite the positive attitude of most consumers toward the nomads’ products, the main obstacle in the way of nomads’ organic livestock and non-livestock production is its sale and marketing issues. Although consumers are looking for healthier products with higher quality, healthier food products face problems on the way to people’s baskets because these products have higher prices, and their distribution system and marketing also have significant shortcomings [11]. In Iran, the high price of agricultural products, particularly healthy and organic products, is due to the increased marketing margin from extreme dealership. Nomads in Iran are mainly in the captivity of dealerships: they sell their products to dealers at a low price, and the dealers reap most of the benefits. It seems that one way to fix, or at least mitigate, this issue is to form local markets to supply the nomads’ products directly. The formation of direct markets could facilitate the supply of products and provide more reasonable prices for consumers while improving the nomads’ economic condition. Moreover, familiarity with the nomads by consumers will improve consumers’ knowledge about indigenous people.

Typically, organic farms produce fewer products than conventional farms by 25% [12]. If consumers know about the benefits of organic foods, the demand for the products will likely increase. Raising awareness about the risks of conventional food products will also lead to a rise in organic product demand [13,14,15,16]. Several studies have concluded that women, younger consumers, people with job experience or education in the field of natural resources, and individuals with strong tendencies to preserve the environment tend to view organic foods positively, and they have more willingness to pay (WTP) [17,18]. This makes them potential consumers for the products.

Some studies analyzed the organic products market and consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) or producers’ willingness to accept (WTA). The authors of [19] estimated the market classification and WTP for organic products in Spain. WTP for various organic products was higher than that of conventional products by 13% for vegetables, 9% for potato, 10% for cereals, 13% for fruits, 10% for eggs, 13% for poultry, and 14% for red meat. In a similar study, ref. [20] estimated the WTP for five organic products of milk, vegetables, wheat flour, fresh chicken, and aromatic plants in Argentina. Consumers were ready to pay 10% to 30% higher for organic products. According to [21], food values, the importance of individual health, and environmental tendencies, along with individual social characteristics such as age, gender, and level of education, can affect a consumer’s viewpoint toward organic food products. The authors of [22,23] obtained similar results in Italy and South Korea. The authors of [24], from a broader perspective, concluded that the lack of knowledge about organic products led to a reduction in WTP in the Netherlands. In another study, ref. [25] investigated the role of villagers’ attitudes toward the local markets in two villages in England. They concluded that the issue affecting local markets is far from marketing and that social and economic factors also play key roles in the rural economy. In a later study, ref. [26] analyzed WTA and WTP for organic vegetables in Nepal. Education had an impact on both producers’ and consumers’ viewpoints about organic products.

The nomads’ product market is different due to the pure nature base of the production process. Moreover, nomads are mostly uneducated people, and this makes it easier for dealers to take advantage of nomads by buying their products cheaper than the market price. Also, some products are wasted due to the distance between the nomads’ location and the cities, decreasing the market efficiency. Moreover, local markets have the benefits of the creation of job diversity, supplemental economic activities, secondary income, fringe benefits, economic and social relations, and a reduction in dependence on cities. As a result, local markets could constitute an economic and social boom in nomadic development in Iran. Regarding consumers, due to the lack of information available to consumers about the tribes and locations where they sell their products, purchasing organic products becomes challenging. Consequently, establishing a local market for organic products from nomads can assist consumers by making their purchases more convenient.

According to the literature, there are not any papers focusing on the local market of nomads’ products in Iran. The current research focuses on nomadic areas in Kerman province—one of the most important nomadic areas in the country—to study the feasibility of forming local markets for organic meat and milk products. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the formation of a local market for nomads’ products in Iran.

2. Materials and Methods

The focus of this case study is the nomads in Kerman province. This research investigated the five tribes of Soleimani, Mehni, Kochomi, Jebalbarezi, and Aieneyi, as well as organic product consumers in Kerman province. To the best of our knowledge, there are a lack of socioeconomic data about these tribes.

Kerman’s total number of beneficiaries was 6200 people, and the number of consumers was unknown. This study implemented the sample size approach provided by [27]. When collecting the data, this study followed the double-bounded dichotomous approach presented by [28]. Then, the Logit model was used to determine the factors affecting the nomads’ WTA and consumers’ WTP for organic meat and milk products in the local markets. Milk and meat products were selected because they are the main products of pastoral nomads. Organic products do not have an organized direct market in Iran, so this analysis estimated the consumers’ WTP and the producers’ WTA during the trade of nomads’ products in a possible direct market.

To model and estimate WTP, it was assumed that each individual either accepts or rejects the suggested price (bid) and the percentage of price increase for a local and organic product for the formation of a direct market based on maximizing the utility function [29]:

$$\mathrm{U}(1,\mathrm{Y}-\mathrm{A};\mathrm{S})+{\mathsf{\epsilon }}_1\ge \mathrm{U}(0,\mathrm{Y};\mathrm{S})+{\mathsf{\epsilon }}_0$$

(1)

in which U is the indirect utility that the individual obtains. Y and A in Equation (1) represent an individual’s income and the suggested price (bid) increase, and S represents other socioeconomic characteristics of an individual. ε₀ and ε₁ are the random variables with mean zero, which have equal and independent distributions. The following equation can describe the difference in utilities [29]:

$$\mathsf{\Delta }\mathrm{U}=\mathrm{U}(1,\mathrm{Y}-\mathrm{A};\mathrm{S})-\mathrm{U}(0,\mathrm{Y};\mathrm{S})+{(\mathsf{\epsilon }}_1-{\mathsf{\epsilon }}_0)$$

(2)

If the utility difference (ΔU) in Equation (2) is greater than zero, the respondent maximizes their utility by paying an amount to gain the organic product. An answer of 0 or 1 was recorded for each respondent. The factors that affect the answer (Yes or No) are A, Y, and S. Logit and Probit are conventional models to consider factors affecting a dichotomous dependent variable. Here is the Logit model [29]:

$${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{i}}={\mathrm{Pr}(\mathrm{Y}}_{\mathrm{t}}=1)={\mathrm{F}(}_{\mathrm{i}}{\mathrm{X} ‘}_{\mathrm{i}}\mathsf{\beta })\frac{1}{1+\exp (-{\mathrm{X} ‘}_{\mathrm{i}}\mathsf{\beta })}$$

(3)

The cumulative probability distribution of P_i in Equation (3) shows the probability of acceptance for the ΔU. Then, the expected value of WTP or E (WTP) can be estimated with the numerical integral measurement in the range of zero to the highest BID as follows [30,31]:

$$\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{E}\left(\mathrm{W}\mathrm{T}\mathrm{P}\right)={\sum }_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{\mathrm{n}}{\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{i}}{\mathrm{wtp}}_{\mathrm{i}}\\ ={\int }_0^{\mathrm{Max}.\mathrm{BID}} (\frac{1}{1+\exp \{-{(\mathsf{\alpha }}^{\ast }+\mathsf{\beta }\mathrm{BID}\left)\right\}}) \mathrm{dBID}\end{array}$$

(4)

where E (WTP) is the expected value of individuals’ WTP for local organic products from the market, and the variable BID represents individuals’ WTP in the model. The adjusted y-intercept in Equation (4) was added to represent the socioeconomic factors. Similarly, the same approach was used to estimate the nomads’ final WTA.

Finally, a direct local organic product market will possibly be formed when the demanders’ WTP is more than the nomads’ WTA for the desired products:

$$\mathrm{i}\mathrm{f} \mathrm{WTP}\ge \mathrm{WTA}\to \mathrm{Local} \mathrm{Direct} \mathrm{Market} \mathrm{is} \mathrm{Okay}.$$

(5)

The results of the research were extracted using SPSS24 software for studying respondents’ social and economic characteristics, Shazam11 for estimating the logit function, and Maple17 for estimating the numerical integral.

Since the nomads travel all year round, it is demanding for consumers to find them and buy their products. In the case of forming a market ($\mathrm{WTP}\ge \mathrm{WTA}$), the consumers can access the information easier. Forming a local market will not only provide consumers with easier access to the local product market, but will also help nomads to commercialize their products. This paves the way for marketing organic products.

3. Results

Using the approach in [27], the sample sizes of 366 nomads and 794 consumers from the population were estimated. Experts and specialists confirmed the validity and reliability of the research questionnaire. First, the nomads were asked their WTA to sell their milk and meat products in a direct market via an opinion poll as a pre-test. Then, this study chose three bids of USD 0.46, USD 0.43, and USD 0.52 per liter for milk products and three bids of USD 5.75, USD 5.38, and USD 6.50 per kg for meat products. Similarly, to estimate the consumers’ WTP, the pre-test results showed three prices of USD 0.44, USD 0.53, and USD 0.25 per liter for milk products and three prices of USD 5.60, USD 4.20, and USD 6.30 per kg for meat products. For each product, the WTA of nomads or WTP of consumers was asked in the actual survey using the double-bounded dichotomous approach from [28]. Accordingly, first, the middle-range price was offered. If the response was positive, the higher price was offered. Otherwise, if the response was negative, the respondents were asked whether they had WTA or WTP for the lowest price.

In this study, 584 respondents (73.6%) were men, and 210 respondents (26.4%) were women. The socioeconomic characteristics of nomads and consumers are provided in

Table 1. Social and economic characteristics of nomad and consumer respondents.

Variables	Nomads/Consumers	Min.	Max.	Mean	Stdv.	CV.
age (year)	nomads	21	80	51.43	1.16	0.02
	consumers	19	76	42.52	12.71	0.29
family size	nomads	2	13	7.23	2.64	0.36
	consumers	1	13	5.2	2.05	0.39
# of livestock	nomads	20	200	101.15	3.28	0.03
distance (km)	consumers	1	150	41.81	35.28	0.84
income (USD)	nomads	75	700	3525	1127.5	0.32
	consumers	50	3750	529.03	523.63	0.8

and

Table 2. Frequency distribution of education level for nomads and consumers.

Group/Education	Illiterate	Elementary	High School	Diploma	College
nomads	116 (31.7%)	94 (25.7%)	76 (20.8%)	36 (9.8%)	44 (12%)
consumers	70 (8.8%)	112 (14.1%)	96 (12.1%)	148 (18.6%)	368 (46.3%)

. The ages of nomads ranged from 21 to 80 (Table 1). Having young nomads in the case study shows that younger generations are still interested in the nomadic lifestyle. The distance variable shows that almost all products are supplied within only Kerman province (Table 1). Approximately 32% of the nomads were illiterate, which reflects the lack of an education system for those living a nomadic lifestyle in Iran (Table 2). On the other hand, most of the consumers (46.3%) had at least a college education level, which shows that organic products are popular among educated people (Table 2).

For WTA, 11.96% of nomads rejected USD 0.46 per liter of milk, but they accepted the highest offer of USD 0.52 per liter and found this price reasonable (

Table 3. Frequency of nomadic people’s WTA for different price levels.

Products	WTA BID (USD)	Yes (No)	WTP BID (USD)	Yes (No)
milk (L)	0.46	88.04% (11.96%)	0.44	86.4% (13.6%)
	0.43	41.06% (46.98%)	0.25	13.6% (0%)
	0.52	11.96% (0%)	0.53	54.18% (32.22%)
lamb (kg)	5.75	87.4% (12.6%)	5.60	95.6% (4.4%)
	5.38	32.68% (54.72%)	4.20	4.4% (0%)
	6.50	12.6% (0%)	6.30	43.6% (52%)

). Also, 88.04% accepted the first offer, and when the lower offer of USD 0.43 per liter was proposed to them, 46.98% rejected the lower offer and found it unreasonable. Similarly, three bids of USD 5.75, USD 5.38, and USD 6.50 per kg were offered to estimate nomads’ WTA for organic lamb meat. Accordingly, 87.4% of respondents accepted the first bid of USD 5.75 per kg (Table 3). All nomads who rejected the first bid accepted the higher bid of USD 6.50 per kg and found the price convincing. Then, of those who had accepted the first offer, 32.68% accepted the lower offer of USD 5.00 as well (Table 3).

For WTP, the survey offered three bids of USD 0.44, USD 0.53, and USD 0.25 per liter of milk to the consumers. According to Table 3, 13.6% of respondents rejected the initial bid of USD 0.44 per liter, but they all accepted the lower bid of USD 0.25 per liter and considered this price to be appropriate. Of the 86.4% of respondents who accepted the USD 0.44 per liter bid, 32.22% rejected the higher offer of USD 0.53. In a similar survey of consumers’ WTP for organic meat, three bids of USD 5.60, USD 4.20, and USD 6.30 per kg were offered. Out of 794 respondents, only 35 consumers, or 4.4%, rejected the first bid of USD 5.60; however, they agreed to the lower price of USD 4.20 (Table 3). Also, out of 95.6% of consumers who had accepted the first bid of USD 5.60, 43.6% accepted the higher bid of USD 6.30, and 52% rejected the higher offer (Table 3).

3.1. Organic Milk Market

First, we estimated the WTA and WTP to assess the feasibility of forming an organic milk market (Equation (5)).

Table 4. Results of Logit model for estimation of WTA and WTP (milk).

	WTA			WTP
Variables	Coefficient	Elasticity	Marginal Effect	Coefficient	Elasticity	Marginal Effect
constant	−30.82 ***	−6.51	-	6.75 ***	1.31	-
bid (USD)	81.60 ***	7.80	13.64	−20.80 ***	−1.86	−3.24
Jebalbarezi	−1.37 ***	−0.06	−0.23
Mehni	−2.10 ***	−0.07	−0.35
Kochomi	−1.31 ***	−0.07	−0.22
Aieneyi	−1.13 **	−0.04	−0.19
# of livestock	0.02 ***	0.42	0.003
knowledge	0.87 ***	0.13	0.14	−0.05 **	−0.04	−0.01
age	−0.01	−0.13	−0.002	0.08 ***	0.68	0.01
marital status	−4.97 ***	−1.04	−0.83	−0.49	−0.08	−0.08
education	−0.52 ***	−0.27	−0.09	0.33 ***	0.27	0.05
family size	0.12	0.19	0.02	−0.12 *	−0.12	−0.02
livestock income (USD 1k)	0.36 ***	0.33	0.08
expenses (USD 1k)	−0.53 **	−0.39	−0.09
distance (km)				−0.004	0.02	−0.0006
income (USD 100)				0.34 ***	0.04	0.06
	LR = 125.47 Probability (LR) = 0.000 % of Right Prediction = 0.79 Mcfadden R2 = 0.28 Maddala R2 = 0.29 Estrella R2 = 0.33			LR = 177.9 Probability (LR) = 0.000 % of Right Prediction = 0.77 Mcfadden R2 = 0.19 Maddala R2 = 0.2 Estrella R2 = 0.22

***, **, and * significant at level of 1%, 5%, and 10%, respectively.

provides the Logit model results for estimating the factors affecting nomads’ WTA and consumers’ WTP for organic milk. For both WTA and WTP, the percentage of correct prediction shows that the models could predict an acceptable percentage of dependent values according to explanatory variables. Also, the statistics of Estrella, Mcfadden, and Maddala and the statistic of maximum verisimilitude (LR) confirm that the appropriate significance of the model and the significance level of LR is 1%.

In the WTA model, nomads of different tribes tended not to participate equally in the market, and it was less possible for the tribes of Jebalbarezi, Mehni, Kochomi, and Aieneyi to accept WTA bids for participating in the market compared with the Soleimani tribe (Table 4). Therefore, the Soleimani tribe may be the most important tribe in the direct market of nomads’ organic milk. The bid variable, which is the most important explanatory variable in both models, had an impact on the WTA of milk producers at the 1% level. Its elasticity at the mean shows that every 1% increase in the bid for WTA can increase the probability of its acceptance on average by 7.80% (Table 4). The other variables of the number of livestock, knowledge about the organic products market, marital status, education, annual income from livestock, and annual household expenses had an impact on the possibility of nomads accepting a bid (Table 4).

Similarly, the elasticity at the mean for bid variable in the WTP model means that every 1% increase in the bid will decrease the possibility of consumers accepting the bid by 1.8%. The variable of distance (km) from tribes did not have any impact on consumers’ WTP. Therefore, far distance likely does not hinder consumers from purchasing organic milk. The other variables of knowledge of the organic market products, age, education, and family size also had an impact on consumers’ WTP.

The expected value was estimated for nomads’ average WTA and consumers’ average WTP in a direct market (Equation (4)). Accordingly, it is expected that the organic milk average WTA will be USD 0.46 per liter, and its average WTP will be USD 0.50 per liter. The average WTA of USD 0.46 per liter is approximately 13.75% more than the current sale price of nomads to dealers and almost 27.2% less than the sale price to the consumers by dealers. Also, the average WTP of USD 0.50 per liter is about 25% more than the nomads’ current sale price to retailers/dealers and about 20% less than the sale price of this product to consumers (by dealers). Since WTP ≥ WTA for organic milk, the formation of a direct market will be possible.

3.2. Organic Lamb Meat Market

For lamb meat also, we used Logit models to assess factors affecting nomads’ WTA and consumers’ WTP (

Table 5. Results of Logit model for WTA and WTP estimation (lamb).

	WTA			WTP
Variables	Coefficient	Elasticity	Marginal Effect	Coefficient	Elasticity	Marginal Effect
constant	−30.41 ***	−8.20	-	16.54 ***	2.49	-
bid (USD)	4.00 ***	10.71	1.36	−3.08 ***	−2.75	−0.40
Jebalbarezi	−1.58 ***	−0.10	−0.31
Mehni	−0.05	−0.002	−0.009
Kochomi	−0.49	−0.03	−0.10
Aieneyi	−1.58 ***	−0.09	−0.31
# of livestock	0.08 ***	2.16	0.02
knowledge	−0.56 *	−0.08	−0.11	0.93 ***	0.09	0.12
age	−0.06 **	−0.75	−0.01	0.07 ***	0.46	0.009
marital status	−2.32 **	−0.60	−0.46	−0.46	−0.06	−0.06
education	−0.44 **	−0.29	−0.09	0.20 **	0.13	0.03
family size	−0.06	−0.11	−0.01	−0.14 **	−0.11	−0.02
livestock income (USD 1k)	0.13	0.144	0.03
expenses (USD 1k)	−2.54 ***	−2.474	−0.50
distance (km)				−0.004 *	−0.03	−0.0005
income (USD 100)				0.05 **	0.02	0.01
	LR = 18.13 Probability (LR) = 0.000 % of Right Predictions = 0.86 Mcfadden R2 = 0.38 Maddala R2 = 0.39 Estrella R2 = 0.47			LR = 196.1 Probability (LR) = 0.000 % of Right Prediction = 0.8 Mcfadden R2 = 0.23 Maddala R2 = 0.21 Estrella R2 = 0.24

***, **, and * significant at level of 1%, 5%, and 10%, respectively.

). Likelihood ratios, prediction powers, and R² of both models prove that they were the right fit for the data. Similar to organic milk, the possibility of WTA for lamb meat is also different across tribes. Nomads in the Jebalbarezi and Aieneyi tribes are less likely to have WTA to supply their organic lamb meat product in a direct market (Table 5). Since the bid variable has a positive impact, nomads had more WTA for the higher bid levels. Every 1% increase in the bid will increase the possibility of WTA by 10.71%. Other variables of the number of livestock, knowledge about the organic product market, age, marital status, education, and household expenses have impacts on the possibility of WTA.

For the demand side of meat, the bid variable had a positive impact on the possibility of WTP. Every 1% increase in the bid will decrease the possibility of WTP by 2.75% (Table 5). Other variables of knowledge about the organic product market, age, education level, family size, distance, and income also have an impact on the possibility of WTP. The distance variable has a negative effect on consumers’ WTP for organic meat. Therefore, with increasing distance from the nomadic areas, the tendency of consumers to be in the direct market will be reduced.

The average expected value of nomads’ WTA (Equation (4)) for organic lamb meat should be USD 5.64 per kg. This amount is approximately 12.8% more than the current sale price of nomads to retailers/dealers and about 24.2% less than the dealers’ sale price to the consumers in the market. Similarly, we estimated the average expected value of consumers’ WTP for organic lamb meat as USD 6.15 per kg, which is about 23% more than the nomads’ current sale price to dealers and approximately 13.3% less than the dealers’ sale price to the consumers in the market. Since WTP ≥ WTA, the formation of the direct market will be possible. According to the results of this section and Section 3.1, the consumers’ WTP for both organic meat and milk products are higher than the nomads’ WTA. Therefore, the formation of a direct market for nomads’ organic products will be possible.

4. Discussion

This study estimates nomads’ WTA for supplying and consumers’ WTP for purchasing organic meat and milk products in Kerman province for the formation and development of local direct markets. First, questionnaires were designed for nomads and consumers of each product to collect their socioeconomic data and determine their WTA or WTP. Then, Logit models were applied to estimate factors affecting the possibilities of WTA and WTP. In the first part of the results, the nomads’ WTA was analyzed to determine whether their products could be supplied to direct markets. Then, the WTA responses were compared with the average WTP from the consumers’ dataset and the Logit model. Since this is the first study that evaluates organic products from Iranian nomads, it was not possible to compare the results with other studies related to nomads’ organic products. Therefore, the results were compared with studies that estimated the value of organic products in general.

Nomads’ age had an impact on WTA for meat, and older nomads had more WTA. Both the variables of education and knowledge of the organic products market had an impact on the probability of acceptance of bids by the nomads. The education of nomads and their awareness of market conditions lead to better knowledge of the value of organic products and a higher possibility of accepting a bid. This is aligned with other studies, such as [10,18]; they expressed that creating educational and consulting mechanisms regarding the organic products market leads to a more reasonable WTA for producers.

The nomads’ number of livestock had a positive effect on their WTA for both meat and milk. Owning more livestock indicates more production, and it is more possible for nomads who own livestock to participate in the formation of local markets. Nomads’ income from animal husbandry is associated with WTA for organic milk. That is to say that the higher the producers’ income from their animal husbandry, the more probable it is for them to accept the bid. The reason is that nomads who have higher incomes seek participation in forming local markets so that they can produce more and sell their products at more reasonable prices in local markets. This study showed that with the increase in costs of nomadic households, it was more possible for nomads to accept a bid. In a comparable study, ref. [26] also found that landholding size and producers’ income had an impact on their WTA for producing organic products.

On the demand side, the age variable had a positive effect on the probability of accepting bids for the consumption of milk and meat products. As consumer age increases, the possibility of WTP for organic products increases. This is likely because older people tend to have more health issues and chronic diseases than younger people. This is consistent with the studies of [17,20,21,26]; they express that age is one of the most important factors affecting consumers’ WTP for organic products. The education variable impact also shows that it is more possible for educated people to pay for these products. Although there are a few studies, like [32], who found no relationship between WTP for organic foods and education level, most of the studies in the literature found the opposite. Studies like [21,33] concluded that those who have a higher education level have more tendency to pay for organic products due to more familiarity with the effects of chemicals in non-organic foods on human health.

Similarly, the knowledge variable showed that the consumers’ recognition of the health benefits of nomads’ products has an effect on the probability of WTP for organic milk and meat. This confirms the need for greater advertising in the marketing process of organic products. Holding workshops or exhibitions related to organic products and using public media to raise awareness about organic products are recommended. Other studies such as [13,14,15,33] also expressed that WTP is directly associated with consumers’ knowledge of organic products.

People who have a large family had less WTP for nomads’ organic meat and milk because of higher costs of living. This is aligned with the results of other studies, such as [17,34]. Lastly, an increase in income due to an increase in the purchasing power of the family had an effect on WTP for nomads’ milk and meat. Most of the related studies, like [26,34], addressed the higher price of organic products and found it the main reason that consumers’ income had a positive impact on the possibility of WTP.

According to the results, the consumers’ average WTP for milk and meat are higher than the nomads’ average WTA, so the formation and development of local markets to supply nomads’ livestock products are possible. Consequently, the market will promote producer/consumer surplus due to the difference between WTA/WTP current market prices. This can improve nomads’ and consumers’ economic conditions and livelihood. Meanwhile, the tribe of Soleimani, because of its higher probability of acceptance of a bid, can set the paradigm for an Iranian nomads’ market. After realizing the benefits of this market, other nomadic tribes will likely participate and, therefore, benefit from this market too.

Due to the nomads’ general aversion to technology, they are naturally inclined to cultivate products organically. However, their opposition to modern technology hinders their adoption of contemporary methods that market and distribute their products efficiently. This study provides compelling evidence that setting up a local market for organic products produced by nomads in Iran is indeed feasible. The findings hold significant potential to positively impact both nomads and consumers. By creating such a market, nomads can enhance their production of organic products and improve their income levels. Simultaneously, consumers can enjoy the convenience of readily accessing and buying organic products. This study marks a milestone in demonstrating the feasibility of forming a local market for organic products that benefits both nomads and consumers.

5. Conclusions

A considerable number of Iranian farmers practice traditional cultivation techniques that align with organic agriculture. They rely mainly on natural and traditional methods of farming [34]. Because these farmers tend to avoid the use of advanced technologies in general, it makes supplying their products a demanding task. In Iran, most of the nomads’ products are organic. However, their remote living conditions, away from cities and lacking sufficient market facilities, pose challenges for establishing a market. The nomads’ seasonal and daily movements make it difficult for consumers to locate and purchase organic products directly. Consequently, nomads usually sell their products at lower prices to middlemen, as nomads lack direct contact with end users. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity to establish local markets specifically for nomads’ organic products to bridge this gap and facilitate direct access for consumers. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the feasibility of forming a market for nomads’ products, and the results showed that it is possible to have a specific market for that purpose.

Due to its novelty, this study did have some limitations. Nomad products are mostly for self-consumption. The products that nomads supply to the market are those that are in excess of their consumption. This study lacks data related to their supply capacity. Another issue that makes the formation of a nomad product market challenging is their migration schedule. For instance, if the government could set up booths for nomads in a place to form a market, that would be a seasonal market. During the cold months, the market would be closed as nomads travel to a warmer climate. This poses a challenge for the government to invest in the market infrastructure for this purpose. Finding a location where settled farmers and nomads can supply their products all year round can solve the issue; however, a separate study is needed to analyze its consequences. Lastly, most of the organic foods in nomadic life are handled by women, but their role is not considered in the current study due to cultural issues. It was not possible to perform a complete survey of nomadic women, because such a survey was not acceptable in their culture.