Gendered Food Mapping on Fried Plantain-Dodo in Nigeria

This report is part of the RTBfoods project (Work Package 1), aimed at deploying RTB varieties that meet user-preferred quality traits to increase the adoption and impact of improved RTB varieties in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The report presents the findings of a gendered product mapping (Step 2) of plantain products in Nigeria, conducted based on surveys in 12 rural communities in Osun in Nigeria’s South west, in Delta and Rivers in Nigeria’s South South, and across major urban centres and secondary towns. Plantain is an important food security crop for farming households in Nigeria, but little is known about the main food products of plantain across regions in Nigeria. This report presents the findings of the relative importance of plantain food products in the sampled states, while identifying the quality characteristics along the food chain by different stakeholders. It was found that farming practices vary across the study locations, influenced by household composition, ethnicity and migrant status. Dodo (fried plantains), boli (roasted plantains), boiled plantain, plantain with beans and porridge were the most common food products identified in the study areas. Fruit size, pulp texture (firmness/softness), colour, maturity stage and taste were identified as the most critical characteristics, with impact on quality of processed food products. Although there were significant differences between states regarding the importance of plantain food products, little interstate and gender differences were found for fresh fruit and food product quality characteristics. In the following chapters, the report describes the socio-economic context of plantain production, product preferences, varieties and important characteristics of the crop, product processing and characteristics,and marketing of plantain in Nigeria