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Knowledge4Policy
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  • Publication | 2021

Deciphering urban consumer requirements for rice quality gives insights for driving the future acceptability of local rice in Africa: Case study in the city of Saint-Louis in Senegal

Global Food and Nutrition Security

Rice is the staple cereal in Senegal. Despite the many policies implemented over the last decade, Senegalese consumers still prefer imported over local rice. To understand this preference, this study compares consumer acceptability of three local rice samples versus two imported rice samples. Two focus groups and a consumer test with 120 women were carried out in the city of Saint‐Louis in Senegal. The results concerning consumption habits showed that about 85% of the surveyed women consume rice at least once a day (at lunch). The hedonic test showed that consumers appreciated all five rice samples, but the most liked samples were obtained from industrial processing of either local or imported whole and fragrant rice.