Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts

A requirement for the successful development of new sorghum varieties in Mali is effective evaluation of grain qualities, since sorghum is a staple food crop on which farmers rely for food security. The diversity of grain quality and social aspects that determine varietal acceptability for processin...

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Main Authors: Krista Isaacs, Marjolein Smit, Bakary Samaké, Fred Rattunde, Fatimata Cissé, Abdoulaye Diallo, Mamourou Sidibe, Eva Weltzien
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138632
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author Krista Isaacs
Marjolein Smit
Bakary Samaké
Fred Rattunde
Fatimata Cissé
Abdoulaye Diallo
Mamourou Sidibe
Eva Weltzien
author_browse Abdoulaye Diallo
Bakary Samaké
Eva Weltzien
Fatimata Cissé
Fred Rattunde
Krista Isaacs
Mamourou Sidibe
Marjolein Smit
author_facet Krista Isaacs
Marjolein Smit
Bakary Samaké
Fred Rattunde
Fatimata Cissé
Abdoulaye Diallo
Mamourou Sidibe
Eva Weltzien
author_sort Krista Isaacs
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A requirement for the successful development of new sorghum varieties in Mali is effective evaluation of grain qualities, since sorghum is a staple food crop on which farmers rely for food security. The diversity of grain quality and social aspects that determine varietal acceptability for processing and cooking, however, make this a challenging task. As the processors of sorghum grain in households, women’s knowledge of grain quality traits can contribute to this work. Our objective is to understand opportunities to use grain quality traits to identify experimental varieties that may contribute to food security. Culinary evaluations were conducted in nine villages across two sorghum production zones. Three teams of women, one per replicate, processed, cooked and evaluated five test varieties in each village. Sensory evaluations were conducted by 25 taste testers per village. The major varietal differences observed included the decortication losses, women’s appreciation for ease of processing, and consistency of the prepared food. The participatory evaluation of the quality testing results led to the development of the concept of ‘food yield’. Discussion of these results focuses on designing cost-efficient grain and food quality evaluations that rely on women’s expertise as processors and strengthens their role in the variety development process.
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language Inglés
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
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spelling CGSpace1386322025-12-08T10:29:22Z Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts Krista Isaacs Marjolein Smit Bakary Samaké Fred Rattunde Fatimata Cissé Abdoulaye Diallo Mamourou Sidibe Eva Weltzien sorghum gender plant breeding processing A requirement for the successful development of new sorghum varieties in Mali is effective evaluation of grain qualities, since sorghum is a staple food crop on which farmers rely for food security. The diversity of grain quality and social aspects that determine varietal acceptability for processing and cooking, however, make this a challenging task. As the processors of sorghum grain in households, women’s knowledge of grain quality traits can contribute to this work. Our objective is to understand opportunities to use grain quality traits to identify experimental varieties that may contribute to food security. Culinary evaluations were conducted in nine villages across two sorghum production zones. Three teams of women, one per replicate, processed, cooked and evaluated five test varieties in each village. Sensory evaluations were conducted by 25 taste testers per village. The major varietal differences observed included the decortication losses, women’s appreciation for ease of processing, and consistency of the prepared food. The participatory evaluation of the quality testing results led to the development of the concept of ‘food yield’. Discussion of these results focuses on designing cost-efficient grain and food quality evaluations that rely on women’s expertise as processors and strengthens their role in the variety development process. 2023-02-28 2024-01-26T16:58:51Z 2024-01-26T16:58:51Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138632 en Open Access MDPI Isaacs, K., Smit, M., Samaké, B., Rattunde, F., Cissé, F., Diallo, A., Sidibe, M. and Weltzien, E. 2023. Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Meth-odology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts. Sustainability 15:4312.
spellingShingle sorghum
gender
plant breeding
processing
Krista Isaacs
Marjolein Smit
Bakary Samaké
Fred Rattunde
Fatimata Cissé
Abdoulaye Diallo
Mamourou Sidibe
Eva Weltzien
Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title_full Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title_fullStr Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title_full_unstemmed Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title_short Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
title_sort participatory evaluation of sorghum processing and sensory attributes in mali methodology for improving food security outcomes from variety development efforts
topic sorghum
gender
plant breeding
processing
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138632
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