Gendered Boiled Yam Product Profile in Benin

The WP1 Gendered Food Product Profile for boiled yam in Benin reflects the final step (<a href="https://doi.org/10.18167/agritrop/00661">step 5</a>) of an interdisciplinary five-step methodology developed to identify demand for quality characteristics among diverse user groups along the food chain (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14680">Forsythe et al., 2022</a>). This methodology includes: <a href="https://doi.org/10.18167/agritrop/00568">step 1)</a> interdisciplinary state of knowledge of the product ; <a href="https://doi.org/10.18167/agritrop/00569">step 2)</a> gendered food mapping, which includes participatory research with men and women in rural communities regarding their product preferences and priorities; <a href="https://doi.org/10.18167/agritrop/00570">step 3)</a> participatory processing diagnosis and quality characteristics ; and <a href="https://doi.org/10.18167/agritrop/00571">step 4)</a> consumer studies in rural and urban areas of the product using different RTB varieties. <br> Results from step 1 and 2 have been published in Laurenda Honfozo, Laurent Adinsi, Alexandre Bouniol, Sounkoura Adetonah, Lora Forsythe, Ulrich Kleih, Joseph D. Hounhouigan, Geneviève Fliedel & Noël H. Akissoe (2021). Boiled yam end-user preferences and implications for trait evaluation. International Journal of Food science and Technology, 56(3), 1447-1457. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14707">https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14707</a>. <br><br> The WP1 Gendered Food Product Profile for boiled yam in Benin has been agreed by a multidisciplinary team based on the evidence collected on preferred quality characteristics at each step and assessed for their potential harm and benefit for women, based on an adapted G+ tool (publication pending by Forsythe et al.). Yam intended to be boiled for consumption should exhibit specific traits for raw, as well as during the cooking process. Important yam quality characteristics of raw tuber for all users (women, men and youth) include smooth size, heavy weight, and tuber shape. The size and shape of the tuber do not directly impact quality of boiled yam product but affect the easiness to peel, the transport cost and adoption level. Major processing characteristics of boiled yam consist of the “easy to peel, no discoloration, cooking time, viscosity of cooking water and nonappearance of spots”. Among these characters, cooking time is firstly ranked as the least important quality criteria gathered during processing. However, after further discussion (with food scientists and gender specialists), and based on qualitative information from WP1, this criterion is selected as important and ranked second following “no discoloration” because it contributes to increase the processing cost by decreasing the profitability of processors. The ready to eat boiled yam should be white/yellowish, crumbly/mealy, sticky, sweet, yam flavored and with aftercooking stability. Basically, market value of raw yam is defined by the size and shape of tuber with smooth skin. These criteria are very important for men involved in yam production. Regarding the women (main processors), the easiness to peel, no discoloration (stability of color), sweet taste and crumbliness are considered as priority traits.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Adinsi, Laurent, Honfozo, Laurenda, Akissoe, Noel, Bakpe, Jules, Bouniol, Alexandre, Djibril Moussa, Imayath, Adetonah, Sounkoura, Ofoeze, Miriam, Meghar, Karima, Madu, Tessy, Forsythe, Lora
Other Authors:	Asiimwe, Amos
Format:	Gendered Food Product Profile biblioteca
Language:	Not applicable
Published:	CIRAD Dataverse
Subjects:	Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences, Yam tuber, High quality, Processing, Gender assessment, Product profile, Consumer testing, Food analysis,
Online Access:	https://doi.org/10.18167/DVN1/COAEIP
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