Econometric Analysis of food products determinants in Tahoua State, Niger

Abstract

The non-diversification and poor quality diets have been identified as the main causes of disease in developing countries. The promotion of a balanced and varied diet offers promising alternatives for ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security. The objective of this study is to determine the perception of urban consumers on food products. Data was collected using an experimental setup while the best and worst method was used to analyze the data. Results suggest that value of plant based products is significantly higher than that animal based products. In addition, the results indicate that regardless of socioeconomic characteristics, grains, meat, spices, dairy products and vegetables are the food products most appreciated by consumers. However, men appreciate the more important category, while women prefer the less important. Young people opt for the choice of the most important and while the old go for the less important. For marital status, the choice of the least important among the married dominates, while the choice of the most important among the unmarried dominates. In education, the uneducated and the educated are indifferent between choosing the least important and the most important. When income is low, the choice of the least important outweighs that of the most important, while in the middle income category, the most important outweighs that of the least. Results of this study will make it possible to develop strategies aimed at promoting a healthy, balanced and diversified diet in order to significantly reduce hidden hunger, especially among children and pregnant women.

Keywords: Determinants, food and nutrition security, food products, consumers