ASSESSMENT OF ACCEPTABILITY AND CONSUMPTION OF SENECIO BIAFRE (WOROWO) AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTH WESTERN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Several vegetable species abound in the world. Green leafy vegetables constitute an indispensable constituent of human diet in Africa generally and in West Africa in particular. Leafy vegetables are important items of diet in many Nigerian homes and they are valuable sources of nutrients as they contribute substantially to protein, mineral, vitamins, fiber and other nutrients which are usually in short supply in daily diets. Senecio biafrae is an indigenous leafy vegetable and occurs naturally in the forest zone of West Africa from Guinea to Uganda. It is cultivated on a small scale mainly in Nigeria and Cameroon. In Nigeria adequate attention has not been given to this important vegetable which has affected its consumption among households. This neglect has contributed in no small way to malnutrition problems in Nigeria. This study was design to assess the acceptability and consumption of Senecio biafrae in South Western Nigeria. The specific objectives were ascertain the socio-economic characteristics of respondents, examine the production, acceptability, cultural belief about the vegetable, attitude towards it and income generating activities of the respondents. Simple random technique was used to select two out of the six states of the South Western Nigeria. A total of 120 respondents randomly selected for the study and frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation and linear regression were used to analyze data. The study showed that many (60.8%) of respondents indicated that the vegetable is acceptable to them and that they consume it. The reasons for consumption were for nutritional purpose 45.0%, taste 10.0%, medicinal purposes 3.3% and Aroma 2.5%. Factors affecting consumption of the vegetable are tribe 26.7%, interest 21.7%, flavour 23.3%, cost 15.0% and availability 13.3%. Sex of the respondents can be used to determine people’s attitude towards the consumption of the vegetable (r= 0.286, p = 0.047). That is male respondents have more positive attitude towards the consumption of the vegetable than their female counterpart.