Sensory Evaluation and Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Quality Protein Maize (QPM) using Experimental Auctions in Rural Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of quality protein maize (QPM) in rural Tanzania. Due to the malnutrition problem facing consumers in developing countries, QPM which has almost double the amount of tryptophan and lysine, has been identified as a possible solution to this problem. To know whether consumers will accept QPM, it is vital that its sensory attributes and consumer acceptance tests are carried out. Sensory characteristics were determined using home use testing and central location methods by use of stiff porridge. Three districts were visited and 120 consumers participated in home use testing, whereas 30 respondents participated in the central location testing. At the central location, triangle test was also undertaken to find out if a difference exists between QPM and conventional maize. Additionally, acceptability of QPM was tested using BDM method. Consumer characteristics of QPM were highly appreciated for stiff porridge, a major maize product in East Africa. This was observed both in home use and sensory location testing. Likewise, consumers were willing to pay more for QPM than for conventional maize in all evaluation criteria used. Triangle test showed a significant difference between QPM and conventional maize. Sensory evaluation however needs to be repeated with other QPM varieties to ensure that it is not only a specific QPM variety that has favourable consumer characteristicsQPM, consumer acceptability, sensory evaluation, malnutrition, Tanzania, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

Following up on smallholder farmers and supermarkets

In many developing countries, supermarkets are expanding rapidly. This also affects farmers’ marketing options. Previous studies have analyzed welfare effects for smallholders with crosssection data. Here, we use panel data and a differencing approach to study supply chain dynamics and better account for unobserved heterogeneity in impact assessment. The analysis focuses on vegetable producers in Kenya. Participation in supermarket channels is associated with large income gains, which have further increased over time. However, many farmers are not able to enter supermarket channels, or they have dropped out due to various constraints. Specific support is needed to avoid widening income disparities

How important are supermarkets for the diets of the urban poor in Africa?

Many developing countries are undergoing a profound transformation of food systems and retail environments. Especially in urban areas, a rapid growth of supermarkets is observed, which can affect consumer food choices and diets. Supermarkets may improve access to diverse foods at affordable prices, but may also encourage a switch from unprocessed to highly-processed and energy-dense foods that contribute to obesity. However, the use of supermarkets is positively correlated with income. That supermarkets already play an important role for the diets of many urban consumers does not necessarily mean that this is also true for the poorest population segments that are of particular interest for development policy. This article analyzes the diets and food purchase patterns of poor urban consumers in Kenya and Uganda. Representative data were collected from households in the slums of Nairobi and Kampala. The data show that the majority of these households are undernourished. They buy most food items in unprocessed form from various traditional retail outlets, including mom-and-pop shops, local markets, and kiosks. Relatively few sample households buy any of their food in supermarkets. Supermarkets account for only 3% and 0.4% of all food expenditures of slum dwellers in Nairobi and Kampala, respectively. Reasons for the low supermarket use of these poor households are discussed. The findings suggest that a focus on the modern retail sector alone will not suffice to ensure food and nutrition security for all

Impact of COVID-19 on diets of poor consumers in Africa: Evidence from the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food systems worldwide, and this is likely to have negative implications for food and nutrition security. The vulnerable poor, especially those in the urban areas, are likely to feel a bigger impact. More than half of Africa’s urban population lives in slums. Little is known about the impact of the current pandemic on their consumption behavior and diets. This study analyzes effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumption of nutritious foods (including fresh fruits and vegetables and animal source foods) and diets of poor slumdwellers and middle-income non-slum dwellers in Nairobi, Kenya, using primary data collected from 2,465 households between April and May 2020. Food (in)security assessment and consumption behavior questions are asked to capture before and during pandemic using recall. In addition, household dietary diversity scores are calculated based on 7-day food consumption recalls. Both descriptive and econometric regression analyses are conducted. Households in the slums are affected more than the non-slum middle-income households. More than 40% of slum households do not have jobs, their average monthly household income is very low, at USD78. About 90% of households in the slums reported dire food insecurity situations. They were not able to eat the kind of foods they preferred, they ate a limited variety of foods, a smaller meal than they felt they needed and fewer number of meals in a day. Slum households have a lower dietary diversity score (4 out of 9) compared to the non-slum (5 out of 9). In addition, slum dwellers show larger negative effects on consumption of nutritious foods especially fresh fruit and vegetables and animal source foods. Several factors associated with quality food consumption during the pandemic period are highlighted. Mitigation measures should pay close attention to slums as they are deeply impacted by the pandemic. In addition, policy design and implementation should be inclusive of the vulnerable poor consumers in the slums

Does retail food diversity in urban food environments influence consumer diets?

The food environment influences consumer diets in significant yet underexplored ways. In this study, we assess the way in which the Nairobi urban food environment—availability, accessibility, affordability, desirability, convenience and marketing—influences the dietary choices and quality of poor urban consumers, by combining market-level diversity scores (MLDS) with household and individual data collected from resource-poor (slum) neighbourhoods in Nairobi, Kenya. We find that urban-poor settings are characterized by a variety of food retail venues, including informal markets such as kiosks, mom-and-pop shops and tabletop vendors, as well as modern retail outlets such as supermarkets. Most of these food outlets predominantly sell unhealthy, highly-processed and energy-dense foods rather than nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits and animal products. Our analyses show that supermarkets have the highest MLDS, yet they do not significantly influence the diets of resource-poor households. However, a high MLDS among informal retail outlets has a positive association with diet quality; conversely, open-air markets have a negative association. The nutritional status of urban-poor consumers can be improved by promoting the diversification of healthy, nutritious foods across traditional retail outlets and improving accessibility of the outlets to consumers

Performance evaluation of an inflatable solar dryer for maize and the effect on product quality compared with direct sun drying

Maize is an important staple in Africa, which necessitates immediate drying to preserve the postharvest quality. The traditional drying of maize in the open sun is prone to adverse weather and extraneous contamination. In this study, the drying performance of an inflatable solar dryer (ISD) was compared to direct sun drying (DSD) in Gombe Town, Wakiso District (Uganda) by analysing the moisture content, yeasts, moulds, aflatoxin, and colour. The maximum temperature inside the ISD reached 63.7 °C and averaged 7 °C higher than the ambient temperature. Maize was dried using both methods to a moisture content below 14% after two days. In one of the received maize lots that was already heavily contaminated after harvest, drying with DSD and ISD reduced the aflatoxin content from 569.6 μg kg−1 to 345.5 μg kg−1 and 299.2 μg kg−1, respectively. Although the drying performance in terms of drying time and product quality regarding colour, yeast, and mould was similar for both drying methods, the advantage of ISD in reducing the risk of spoilage due to sudden rain is obvious. A strategy for the early detection of aflatoxins in maize is recommended to avoid contaminated maize in the food chain

Survey data on income, food security, and dietary behavior among women and children from households of differing socio-economic status in urban and peri-urban areas of Nairobi, Kenya

This article describes data collected to analyze consumer behaviors in vulnerable populations by examining key access constraints to nutritious foods among households of differing socio-economic status in urban and peri‑urban areas of Nairobi, Kenya. The key variables studied include wealth status, food security, and dietary behavior indicators at individual and household level. Household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS), livelihood coping strategies (LCS), food expenditure share (FES), food consumption score (FCS), household dietary diversity score (HDDS), minimum dietary diversity-women(MDD-W), and child dietary diversity score (CDDS) indicators were used to measure food security. Household assets were used to develop an asset-based wealth index that grouped the study sample population into five wealth quantiles, while income levels were used to estimate FES. The hypothesis that guided the cross-sectional survey conducted to generate these data is that vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty are important drivers of food choice that influence household and individual dietary behavior. Data from this study was thus used to assess direction and strength of association between; household food insecurity, wealth status, women, children, and household dietary behavior in both urban and peri‑urban populations sampled

Sensory Evaluation and Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Quality Protein Maize (QPM) using Experimental Auctions in Rural Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of quality protein maize (QPM) in rural Tanzania. Due to the malnutrition problem facing consumers in developing countries, QPM which has almost double the amount of tryptophan and lysine, has been identified as a possible solution to this problem. To know whether consumers will accept QPM, it is vital that its sensory attributes and consumer acceptance tests are carried out. Sensory characteristics were determined using home use testing and central location methods by use of stiff porridge. Three districts were visited and 120 consumers participated in home use testing, whereas 30 respondents participated in the central location testing. At the central location, triangle test was also undertaken to find out if a difference exists between QPM and conventional maize. Additionally, acceptability of QPM was tested using BDM method. Consumer characteristics of QPM were highly appreciated for stiff porridge, a major maize product in East Africa. This was observed both in home use and sensory location testing. Likewise, consumers were willing to pay more for QPM than for conventional maize in all evaluation criteria used. Triangle test showed a significant difference between QPM and conventional maize. Sensory evaluation however needs to be repeated with other QPM varieties to ensure that it is not only a specific QPM variety that has favourable consumer characteristic

Following up on smallholder farmers and supermarkets

In many developing countries, supermarkets are expanding rapidly. This also affects farmers’ marketing options. Previous studies have analyzed welfare effects for smallholders with crosssection data. Here, we use panel data and a differencing approach to study supply chain dynamics and better account for unobserved heterogeneity in impact assessment. The analysis focuses on vegetable producers in Kenya. Participation in supermarket channels is associated with large income gains, which have further increased over time. However, many farmers are not able to enter supermarket channels, or they have dropped out due to various constraints. Specific support is needed to avoid widening income disparities