Acceptability of Improved Varieties of Sorghum for Consumption in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Farmers’ acceptance of and preference for crop varieties depend to a large extent on consumption value and market price. Therefore, food quality considerations are crucial for extension of high-yield varieties. We explored whether several new sorghum of varieties that have been found to have high agronomic performance are acceptable for consumption by using them in two foods commonly prepared from sorghum (kamu and tango). All the improved varieties made acceptable kamu and tango. They met the expectations of consumers for colour, appearance, flavour, taste, and texture and did nor pose obvious processing and milling problems. There is a need to monitor these varieties and subject them to further consumer preference tests using quantitative techniques and the combined effects of the major factors that commonly affect acceptance of crops for production and use, namely, expected yield or income, labour requirement, technical feasibility, nutritional value, and acceptability to consumers.