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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 14, No. 4, 2014, pp. 9117-9135
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Bioline Code: nd14047
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2014, pp. 9117-9135
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A NATIONAL SURVEY OF RICE ( Oryza sativa L.) GRAIN QUALITY IN SIERRA LEONE I: PERCEPTION OF TRADERS AND CONSUMERS
Kamara, J.S.; Bockari-Gevao, S.M.; Luseni, P.J.; Leigh, A.U. & Cooke, R.A.
Abstract
As Sierra Leone approaches self-sufficiency in rice, against a backdrop of agricultural
commercialization, the dynamics of the rice grain production and consumption will
increasingly be driven by the quality of grains demanded by consumers to be
produced by farmers and marketed by traders in the open market. The present study
was a national perception survey aimed at establishing the current status of rice grain
quality based on the perspectives of traders and consumers interviewed at selected
market places in four major cities across the country. In separate interviews
conducted with315 consumers and traders selected at random from 45 markets around
the country, individual responses were solicited on the general interests of consumers
and traders, as well as the marketing practices and aspirations for the improvement of
rice grain quality in the country. Results obtained from the two surveys suggest that
the priorities of rice consumers for grain quality were generally similar to those of the
traders. For example, between to 63 to 100 per cent (84 %all cities) of consumers and
69 to 100 percent (88% all cities) of traders interviewed indicated preference for
imported rice, with a significant positive correlation (r = 0.78) between the two
groups. Among rice products found in the market, the imported high swelling, long
grain rice was shown to be preferred by both traders and consumers, due mostly to
the high swelling power and non-seasonal market availability of that grain type.
Other results suggest that both traders and consumers desire further improvement in grain
quality, even though they do not consider this to be of high priority. The study leads to the
conclusion that imported rice products are more popular than local rice products
among rice traders and consumers in Sierra Leone. It is speculated that such
preference might have been driven directly by the priorities of household food
decisions and indirectly by the general socio-economics of food production and
consumption in the country.
Keywords
Rice grain quality; consumers; Sierra Leone
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