Consumer demand for sorghum and millets in eastern and southern Africa: Priorities for the CGIAR Research Programme for Dryland Cereals; Socioeconomics Discussion Paper Series 35

Abstract

This report was prepared to help the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals set research priorities for ESA. A clearer understanding of consumer demand for sorghum and millets is required so that the priorities for crop improvement and value chain development are based on market demand. This report summarizes current information on consumer demand for sorghum and millets in ESA, with particular reference to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. The analysis is based primarily on data from nationally representative household expenditure surveys for these four countries conducted between 2005 and 2012. The original data was obtained and re-analysed to determine the drivers of consumer demand for sorghum and millets. Results showed that the consumption estimates from these surveys were inconsistent with the data on the production and availability of sorghum and millets reported in national statistics. Consequently, we adjusted the results from the household expenditure surveys to match the production and population estimates for each country to allow comparisons across the four countries for 2013. Information on price and income elasticities was obtained from secondary literature, while information on prices were gathered from the World Bank and FAO data sets on commodity markets and prices Consumer demand for sorghum and millets in ESA is driven by population growth, urbanisation, income and price. Below, we summarise the findings for cereals in general, then separately for sorghum and millets