Country of Origin as a Factor Influencing Decisions by Farmers in East Java-Indonesia to Purchase Veterinary Medicines

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of some demographic and economic variables such as ethnic grouping, gender, education level, size of farm, and type of feeding system in assessing the impact of country of origin on farmers’ decisions to purchase imported veterinary medicines. Snowball sampling was used to select 58 owners or managers of laying hen farms in East Java, Indonesia who have purchased veterinary medicines. The results demonstrate that irrespective of culture and demographic factors, there was no difference among the various groups of farmers in regard to their assessment of quality of veterinary medicines. Nevertheless, there were differences between the perceptions of Javanese farmers and Chinese farmers in regard to four other topics namely technology, design/packaging, preferences for imported veterinary medicines, and information and sales service.