Abstract
SummaryPlantain is an important food security crop for farming households in Nigeria. This study investigates the relative importance of plantain food products and their quality descriptors from the perspective of farmers in Southern‐Nigeria, to inform end‐user oriented and socially inclusive breeding strategies that drive hybrid adoption. Surveys were conducted in twelve rural communities in three states in the plantain belt of Nigeria, consisting of key informant interviews, sex‐disaggregated focused group discussions and individual interviews. Dodo (fried plantains), boli (roasted plantains), boiled plantain, plantain with beans and porridge were the most common food products identified in the study areas. Fruit size, pulp texture (firmness/softness), colour, maturity stage and taste were identified as the most critical characteristics, with impact on quality of processed food products. There were significant differences between states regarding the importance of plantain food products, but little interstate and gender differences for fresh fruit and food product quality characteristics.
Highlights
The need to feed the earth’s growing population in a sustainable way requires substantial improvements in crop breeding efforts to increase agricultural productivity and access to nutritious and preferred food products
The second stage involved the selection of four rural communities in each of the three selected states based on information from the government Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) officers regarding the importance of plantain cultivation, processing, consumption and marketing
This study has provided insights into the important plantain food products consumed in three critical plantain producing states in Nigeria, as well as important quality characteristics for plantain fruit and food products
Summary
The need to feed the earth’s growing population in a sustainable way requires substantial improvements in crop breeding efforts to increase agricultural productivity and access to nutritious and preferred food products. AAB) is a staple food for over three million households in West and Central Africa. Nigeria is the world’s top plantain producer (Lescot, 2020) and plantain ranks third in production among starchy staples after cassava and yam (Akinyemi et al, 2010). Plantains are mainly cultivated by smallholders for their starchy fruits which serve as a source of calories and can be processed for consumption across different stages of ripeness. Plantain ripening is categorized into nine stages based on peel colour: 1 (green), 2 (pale green), 3 (pale green with yellow tips), 4 (yellow-green), 5 (more yellow than green), 6 (completely yellow), 7 (yellow with black specks due to senescence), 8 (yellow-black) and 9 (more black than yellow; Adi et al, 2019).
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