Perspectives on Fish Consumption Preference, Frequency and Information Accessibility among Households in Juba, South Sudan

Abstract

Eating healthy requires nutritious foods (e.g. fish, vegetables and fruits etc.) on the menu to help improve the health of consumers. As an example of highly nutritious foods, eating fish has the potential to improve human health. Most fish consumption studies mainly focus on consumers’ perspectives to evaluate their knowledge and behavior, and are often compared to scientific evidences. In many developing countries, fish consumption cannot only be influenced by consumers’ knowledge and behavior but also by other factors such as undersupply of fish and fish products due to poor infrastructures, political instability and unregulated prices in the local markets, accessible and preferred purchasing points, accessible and preferred sources of information, and trust towards agents of information, which are not commonly studied or underrated in developed nations. Limited number of studies only incorporated a few of these variables to understand issues influencing fish consumption. In Juba Town, Kator and Munuki Payams of Juba County and South Sudan at large, recent estimates about food insufficiency among households are worrying. Besides such worsening food insufficiency, studies on food consumption preference, frequency and other persuasive issues have not been conducted or lacking. As a result, this study evaluated perspectives on fish consumption preference, frequency and information accessibility among households in Juba, South Sudan. A total of 191 respondents from Juba Town, Kator and Munuki Payams of Juba County were interviewed using non-probability sampling method. The data were analyzed thematically and descriptively using SPSS software 20.0. Majority of the households (>50%) in Juba consumed fish regularly but in small amounts. The findings also revealed the most preferred fish species and products, purchasing points, motivation and constraints, and information accessibility influencing fish consumption and recommendations for further studies.