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Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria

Received: 12 June 2021    Accepted: 28 June 2021    Published: 31 August 2021
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Abstract

Malnutrition afflicts a large number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Orphan crops, such as Taro plants, can play critical roles in ensuring global food and nutritional security in this regard. Nigeria is the world's leading producer of taro. It is primarily consumed as a main component or as a soup thickener by resource-poor rural residents in Nigeria's south-eastern regions. The corm contains a lot of carbohydrates, while the leaves have a lot of protein. Furthermore, its social and medicinal importance should not be overlooked. It is, however, a food resource that is underutilized and receives little attention from scientists. Farmers cultivate it on a small scale, and its commercial importance is primarily limited to the local area, implying that farmers are the primary users and keepers of taro genetic diversity. As a result, they've gained some valuable experience in identifying and preserving cultivars they prefer, as well as developing utilization patterns (culinary diversity) for the cultivars they've kept. Information on farmers' knowledge of taro utilization patterns, cultivar maintenance, and culinary diversity is scarce in Nigeria, particularly in the south-eastern region. The purpose of this study is to review existing literature on farmers' and consumers' perceptions and preferences for taro in order to provide insight into knowledge of taro food use, benefits, and potential brand foods. It also addresses key bottlenecks that impede taro production and consumption in Nigeria, paving the way for increased taro production and adoption by both farmers and consumers.

Published in Journal of Plant Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23
Page(s) 224-233
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Colocasia esculenta, Cultivar Maintenance, Farmers’ Knowledge, Food Security, Nutritional Security, Taro

References
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  • APA Style

    Tilahun Wondimu Fufa, Happiness Ogba Oselebe, Catherine Veronica Nnamani, Celestine Azubuike Afiukwa, Edak Aniedi Uyoh. (2021). Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria. Journal of Plant Sciences, 9(4), 224-233. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23

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    ACS Style

    Tilahun Wondimu Fufa; Happiness Ogba Oselebe; Catherine Veronica Nnamani; Celestine Azubuike Afiukwa; Edak Aniedi Uyoh. Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria. J. Plant Sci. 2021, 9(4), 224-233. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23

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    AMA Style

    Tilahun Wondimu Fufa, Happiness Ogba Oselebe, Catherine Veronica Nnamani, Celestine Azubuike Afiukwa, Edak Aniedi Uyoh. Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria. J Plant Sci. 2021;9(4):224-233. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23,
      author = {Tilahun Wondimu Fufa and Happiness Ogba Oselebe and Catherine Veronica Nnamani and Celestine Azubuike Afiukwa and Edak Aniedi Uyoh},
      title = {Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria},
      journal = {Journal of Plant Sciences},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {224-233},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jps.20210904.23},
      abstract = {Malnutrition afflicts a large number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Orphan crops, such as Taro plants, can play critical roles in ensuring global food and nutritional security in this regard. Nigeria is the world's leading producer of taro. It is primarily consumed as a main component or as a soup thickener by resource-poor rural residents in Nigeria's south-eastern regions. The corm contains a lot of carbohydrates, while the leaves have a lot of protein. Furthermore, its social and medicinal importance should not be overlooked. It is, however, a food resource that is underutilized and receives little attention from scientists. Farmers cultivate it on a small scale, and its commercial importance is primarily limited to the local area, implying that farmers are the primary users and keepers of taro genetic diversity. As a result, they've gained some valuable experience in identifying and preserving cultivars they prefer, as well as developing utilization patterns (culinary diversity) for the cultivars they've kept. Information on farmers' knowledge of taro utilization patterns, cultivar maintenance, and culinary diversity is scarce in Nigeria, particularly in the south-eastern region. The purpose of this study is to review existing literature on farmers' and consumers' perceptions and preferences for taro in order to provide insight into knowledge of taro food use, benefits, and potential brand foods. It also addresses key bottlenecks that impede taro production and consumption in Nigeria, paving the way for increased taro production and adoption by both farmers and consumers.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Systematic Review on Farmers’ Perceptions, Preferences and Utilization Patterns of Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Scott] for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria
    AU  - Tilahun Wondimu Fufa
    AU  - Happiness Ogba Oselebe
    AU  - Catherine Veronica Nnamani
    AU  - Celestine Azubuike Afiukwa
    AU  - Edak Aniedi Uyoh
    Y1  - 2021/08/31
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23
    T2  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JF  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JO  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    SP  - 224
    EP  - 233
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0731
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20210904.23
    AB  - Malnutrition afflicts a large number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Orphan crops, such as Taro plants, can play critical roles in ensuring global food and nutritional security in this regard. Nigeria is the world's leading producer of taro. It is primarily consumed as a main component or as a soup thickener by resource-poor rural residents in Nigeria's south-eastern regions. The corm contains a lot of carbohydrates, while the leaves have a lot of protein. Furthermore, its social and medicinal importance should not be overlooked. It is, however, a food resource that is underutilized and receives little attention from scientists. Farmers cultivate it on a small scale, and its commercial importance is primarily limited to the local area, implying that farmers are the primary users and keepers of taro genetic diversity. As a result, they've gained some valuable experience in identifying and preserving cultivars they prefer, as well as developing utilization patterns (culinary diversity) for the cultivars they've kept. Information on farmers' knowledge of taro utilization patterns, cultivar maintenance, and culinary diversity is scarce in Nigeria, particularly in the south-eastern region. The purpose of this study is to review existing literature on farmers' and consumers' perceptions and preferences for taro in order to provide insight into knowledge of taro food use, benefits, and potential brand foods. It also addresses key bottlenecks that impede taro production and consumption in Nigeria, paving the way for increased taro production and adoption by both farmers and consumers.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Departement of Horticulture, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Departement of Crop Production and Landscape Management, University of Ebonyi State, Abakaliki, Nigeria

  • Department of Applied Biology, University of Ebonyi State, Abakaliki, Nigeria

  • Department of Biotechnology, University Ebonyi State, Abakaliki, Nigeria

  • Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

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