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Results

Farm-household evaluations

Virtually all the respondents said that the new varieties were generally easy to use or entailed normal effort. Only two said that they had some difficulty with one of the varieties, L 533.

The varieties were also rated high in terms of quantity of food (75%-80% flour yield). Four of the women reported they got a greater quantity than they would from such local varieties as farafara and mori, and the remaining 24 obtained a quantity similar to that from the local varieties.

The overall impression of the respondents regarding the taste and general quality of the foods was clearly favourable. Sixteen rated the dishes as excellent, and the rest as good. Generally, they were considered palatable and acceptable, and none of the varieties was unacceptable.

When asked to compare the dishes with those made from the local varieties, 12 of the households rated the test varieties as better, and the remaining 16 said they were of the same quality in terms of taste and overall assessment. Also, in terms of colour, appearance, consistency, and flavour, none felt that the test varieties were inferior to the local varieties. Their judgements-scored on a scale of 1 to 3 (1 = better, 2 = the same quality, 3 = inferior) for colour, appearance, consistency, and flavor-are presented in table 2.

TABLE 2. Comparison by farm women of foods prepared from improved sorghum varieties with those from commonly used local varieties

Scale: 1, new variety is better than local variety; 2, both varieties are equal; 3, new variety is inferior.

Panel evaluations

Individual assessments of the kamu and tuwo prepared with the new varieties and comparisons of these dishes with those prepared from local varieties confirm the potential of the improved varieties for use in the area. None of the panelists found the taste of any of the dishes unacceptable.

All the improved varieties scored well on the qualities of kamu made from them (table 3). Mean scores for all the varieties on a scale of 1 to 3 (1 = good, 2 = average, 3 = bad) for flavour, taste, texture, and overall assessment were 1.59, 1.54, 1.22, and 1.16 respectively; i.e., they were rated as good or at least better than average in terms of these qualities. Generally, the majority of the panelists also described the flavour and taste of the dishes as pleasant, and the texture as smooth and good. The predominant view was that the kamu was excellent, and none of the assessments suggest that any of the dishes were bad. Similar responses were obtained for tuwo, with ratings of 1.52, 1.27, 1.58, and 1.20 respectively. The mean ratings for all the qualities combined were 1.47 for kamu and 1.48 for tuwo.

Furthermore, when the panelists were asked to compare the dishes with those made from other varieties (1 = better, 2 = the same quality, 3 = inferior), the improved varieties also performed satisfactorily. For kamu, the scores ranged from 1.54 for SK 5912 to 2.15 for L 533, and the mean score was 1.85. For tuwo, the scores ranged from 1.60 for L 243 to 2.00 for L 187, and the mean score for all the varieties was 1.82.

The improved varieties also scored well when they were compared with local varieties on specific quality criteria such as colour, appearance, texture, flavour, and taste (table 4). On the aggregate level, the scores were 1.75 for kamu and 1.57 for tuwo. For kamu, only a few of the respondents (<20%) preferred the local varieties. The majority were split more or less evenly between prefering the new varieties and according them equal status. For tuwo, only 5% of participants preferred the local varieties; the rest were more or less split, according them equal status on all the qualities.

TABLE 3. Assessment by a panel of tasters of foods prepared for improved sorghum varieties

Scale (except as otherwise indicated): 1 = good; 2 = average; 3 = bad.

a. Rating in comparison with commonly used local varieties (scale as for table 2).

TABLE 4. Comparison by the panel of foods prepared from improved sorghum varieties with those from local varieties

Scale as for table 2.

Discussion and conclusion

According to House [6], some of the traits that affect the food quality and acceptability of sorghum grains are grain colour, size, shape, and texture. Virtually all studies assessing sorghum quality have found a significant association between the colour of the grains and the quality of food prepared from them [7-12].

Taking the results of the two levels of investigation together, it is obvious that the improved varieties make acceptable kamu and tuwo. They seem to have met the expectations of virtually all the respondents on the essential criteria used for judging grain and food quality. They do not pose obvious processing and milling problems, and they possess the characteristics normally preferred in the area: white, yellow, or cream-coloured and floury or floury-flint grains. For tuwo, light-coloured (white, cream, or yellow) grains that produce soft, slightly elastic or binding paste are preferred [7]. Also, it is traditionally preferred that the tuwo should be able to retain its moisture, softness, elasticity, and flavour for some time. For instance, if after overnight storage it cracks, indicating dryness due to loss of moisture, and becomes hard, it is not acceptable. For kamu, a light-coloured paste with a smooth texture and creamy consistency is preferred [13, 14].

Red or brown grains are not accepted because they have to be dehulled before further processing. Tuwo prepared without dehulling would be tough, non-elastic or non-binding, and unacceptable because of the colour. Dehulling, which is usually done by hand, is tedious and time consuming. We cannot explain the processing problems attributed to L 533 by two respondents.

There were only slight variations in opinion about the dishes prepared from the improved varieties; the quality was generally acceptable and was rated high by the testers. Indeed, the level of variation was expected, as the assessment could be affected by a number of confounding factors such as methods of preparation and ingredients. Besides, the acceptability of any food depends on the options available to the consumers.

These results are at best preliminary, which merely underscores the need to monitor the development of these promising varieties of sorghum and to subject them to further consumer preference tests using more thorough and rigorous methods of analysis in order to select varieties that will meet the needs of farmers and consumers.

It is important to note that even though farmers' preferences depend on the consumption value of the grains, acceptance for consumption may not mean acceptability for production. The latter is dependent on the interaction of a number of factors such as food scarcity and the value of crop residues [15-17]. For example, technologies that promote sole cropping may enhance the risk of seasonal shortages or long periods of scarcity [18].

Another important consideration, which we have not discussed here, is that the nutritional value Of any variety also depends on its chemical composition, and this too must be monitored. In the final analysis, crop improvement programmes must be increasingly conscious of all the factors that affect crop production and use.

References

1. Brown L. Seeds of change: the green revolution and development in the 1970s. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970.

2. Cleaver HM. Will the green revolution turn red. In: Weissman S. ed. The Trojan horse: a radical look at foreign aid. San Francisco, Calif, VSA: Ramparts Press, 1974:171-200.

3. Cleaver HM. The contradictions of the green revolution. Monthly Rev 1972;24:80-111.

4. Falcon WP. The green revolution: generation of problems. Am J Agric Econ 1970;52:698-710.

5. Wharton CR. The green revolution: cornucopia or Pandora's box. Foreign Affairs 1969;47:464-67.

6. House LR. A guide to sorghum breeding. Patancheru, AP, India: International Cereals Research Institute for the Semiarid Tropics (ICRISAT), 1985.

7. Obilana TA. Traditional sorghum foods in Nigeria: their preparation and quality parameters. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:45-54.

8. Boling MB, Elsener N. Bogobo: sorghum porridge of Botswana. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:32-35.

9. Da S. Akingbala JON, Rooney LW, Scheuring JF, Miller F. Evaluation of To quality in a sorghum breeding programme. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:11-23.

10. Ejeta G. Kisra quality: testing new sorghum varieties. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:67-72.

11. Murty DS, Patil HD, House LR. Sankati quality evaluation of sorghum cultivars. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:36-38.

12. Scheuring JF, Sidibe S. Kante A. Sorghum alkali To: quality consideration. In: Proceedings of the International Syponsium on Sorghum Quality, 28-31 Oct 1981. Patancheru, AP, India: ICRISAT, 1982:24-31.

13. Steckle J. Ewanyk L. Consumer preferences study in grain utilization in Maidiguri, Nigeria. Ottawa, Canada: IDRC, 1974.

14. Vogel S. Graham M. Sorghum and millet for food production and use. Report of a workshop, Nairobi, Kenya, 4-7 July 1978. Ottawa, Canada: IDRC, 1978.

15. Abalu GOI. A note on mixed crop under indigenous conditions in northern Nigeria. J Dev Stud 1976; 12:212.

16. Obilana TA. Six new sorghum pure line varieties for recommendation and release for the northern Sudan/ Sahel Sudan and northern Guinea savana of Nigeria. Zaria, Nigeria: Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, 1982.

17. Ogungbile AO, Libura J. Lagoke STO. Economic evaluation of the use of herbicide in sorghum production among smallscale farmers. Presented at the National Accelerated Food Production Program's National Sorghum, Millet, and Wheat Workshop, 20-24 Feb 1984. Zaria, Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University, 1984.

18. Norman DW, Beeden P. Kroeker WJ, Pryor DH, Huizinga B. Hays HM. The feasibility of improved sole crop sorghum production for small scale farmers in the northern Guinea savana zone of Nigeria. Zaria, Nigeria: Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, 1976.

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