Consumption pattern of biofortified vitamin A cassava products in Oyo state, South-West Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the consumption pattern of biofortified vitamin A cassava products in Oyo state, Nigeria using data collected from 120 households selected via multi-stage sampling. Findings from the study revealed that the households consume cassava products in the form of garri (85.8%), lafun (59.2%) and fufu (30.8%), while the consumption of non-biofortified vitamin A cassava products (62.5%) is higher than the consumption of biofortified vitamin A cassava products (37.5%). Results from the LA-AIDS analysis revealed that the significant factors influencing the demand for the three cassava products were the prices of biofortified vitamin A and non-biofortified vitamin A cassava products, age, gender, education of household head and household income. The expenditure elasticity for the biofortified garri, lafun and fufu indicated that they are normal and luxury foods. The own-price elasticity of the three majorly consumed biofortified cassava products indicated that their demand was price elastic, while the cross-price elasticity of the three biofortified products in relation to non-biofortified cassava products indicated that they were substitutes. It is recommended that policymakers implement strategies for stimulating the demand for biofortified cassava products, as this will not only improve food-nutrition security, but also create income-yielding opportunities.