Preferences and consumption of pigeon peas among rural households as determinants for developing diversified products for sustainable health
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sustainability
Abstract
Pigeon peas are legumes with a high nutritional value. Existing studies of pigeon peas in
Tanzania mainly examine production and marketing, but little has been documented with respect
to consumer preferences and the consumption of pigeon peas. This study assesses the preferences
surrounding pigeon peas and their consumption as bases for the development of diversified and
shelf-stable products for nutrition and income improvement. This study comprised 303 randomly
selected farming households. Furthermore, 60 farmers participated in six focus group discussions in
the Lindi region. A structured questionnaire and a checklist with guided questions were provided
for data collection. The analysis uses SPSS (V.21), with di erences between groups established
using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests. The associations were tested using Spearman’s
at p < 0.05. The mean pigeon peas consumption during the harvesting and lean seasons was
80 g/person/day and 18 g/person/day, respectively. The frequency of consumption was higher during
the harvesting season (92%) than the lean (29%) season. The majority of farmers (91%) preferred
to consume the local variety, with 84% of them consuming pigeon peas as stew. Five pigeon pea
recipes exist in the area. The farmers identified availability, taste, source of income, and familiarity as
the factors determining pigeon pea consumption and preferences. With limited recipes and other
barriers limiting consumption, the creation of innovative ideas for the development of diversified
and shelf-stable products fitting their consumption preferences is needed.
Description
Article of sustainability 2020,
Keywords
Pigeon peas, Legumes, Preference, Consumption, Tanzania