Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts

Abstract

A requirement for the successful development of new sorghum varieties in Mali is effective evaluation of grain qualities, since sorghum is a staple food crop on which farmers rely for food security. The diversity of grain quality and social aspects that determine varietal acceptability for processing and cooking, however, make this a challenging task. As the processors of sorghum grain in households, women’s knowledge of grain quality traits can contribute to this work. Our objective is to understand opportunities to use grain quality traits to identify experimental varieties that may contribute to food security. Culinary evaluations were conducted in nine villages across two sorghum production zones. Three teams of women, one per replicate, processed, cooked and evaluated five test varieties in each village. Sensory evaluations were conducted by 25 taste testers per village. The major varietal differences observed included the decortication losses, women’s appreciation for ease of processing, and consistency of the prepared food. The participatory evaluation of the quality testing results led to the development of the concept of ‘food yield’. Discussion of these results focuses on designing cost-efficient grain and food quality evaluations that rely on women’s expertise as processors and strengthens their role in the variety development process.

Increasing sorghum yields for smallholder farmers in Mali: the evolution towards a context-driven, on-farm, gender-responsive sorghum breeding program

“…Furthermore, a recent review of gender and plant breeding research showed that even when genderdifferentiated data were collected for assessing farmers' preferences for plant traits, gender differentiated analyses were rare (Weltzien et al, 2019a). Recent efforts have focused on interdisciplinary research that examines how roles and responsibilities in crop and seed production, processing, cooking, and marketing influences these trait preferences (Diallo et al, 2018;Marimo et al, 2020;Isaacs et al, 2023). Teeken et al (2021) examined how intersectional identities shaped cassava trait preferences, finding that food product quality traits were more important to food insecure households, and women and men's preferences varied by region, wealth, and household characteristics.…”

“…Sorghum production contributed to their food and nutrition security. interdisciplinary team of nutritionists, breeders, and social scientists developed this culinary test methodology in which the women evaluate the grain quality attributes, decorticate the grain, cook the sorghum into a commonly eaten food, tô, and men and women evaluate the sensory qualities of the tô (taste, color, texture, conservation) (Isaacs et al, 2023). After several years, this method was validated in 2006 across different zones and compared with laboratory tests.…”

“…After several years, this method was validated in 2006 across different zones and compared with laboratory tests. Results showed clearly that women had important knowledge about decortication yield and grain quality traits that affected their overall appreciation of a variety (Diallo et al, 2018) and importantly, the amount of food obtainable from a variety (Isaacs et al, 2023).…”

“…Varieties ranged between 68 and 82% in total "food yield, " or the amount of useable flour and grits after the bran was separated out. Among other traits, the color of the final dish (tô), the labor required to process a given variety, the adherence of glumes to the grain, and the grain size were all important factors to women (Isaacs et al, 2023).…”

“…The culinary tests also showed that there are specific thresholds for each grain characteristic, that new varieties have to meet to become adoptable. All culinary tests included a farmer local variety to provide an appropriate reference (Isaacs et al, 2023). The culinary tests with the sorghum team are ongoing, with women preparing the lines or varieties selected from the on-farm trials for evaluation every two years, to ensure that only varieties that meet the minimum standards (thresholds) are released and enter seed production.…”