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Dietary food consumption patterns in Sudan

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Basic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Review ISSN 2315-6880 Vol. 2(9) pp. 180-185 September 2013
Available online http//www.basicresearchjournals.org
Copyright ©2012 Basic Research Journal

Full Length Research Paper

Dietary food consumption patterns in Sudan

Samar Abdalla1 and Ingrid-Ute Leonhäuser2
1
Agricultural Economics and Policy Research Centre (AEPRC), Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Sudan
2
Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany

*Corresponding author email: samar-122@hotmail.com

Accepted 24 October, 2013

The food consumption patterns varies among the regions and population. The goal of this paper is to
determine the dietary food consumption patterns for the rural farm househol
households
ds in the dry land sector of
Sudan. A sample of 200 farm households was selected randomly from three localities in North Kordofan
State. The primary data was collected using food frequency questionnaire during the agricultural season of
2008/09. The resultss disclose that the dietary food patterns for the farm households depends largely upon
cereal foods, particularly millet and sorghum products. The consumption of millet products is less than that
of sorghum products due to its high market prices and produc
production
tion fluctuations. About 8%, 34.5%, 52.5%,
and 52% of the farm households are rarely consumed meat, milk, chicken, and eggs respectively. The rural
households consumed pulses, because they are available and inexpensive source of protein. Vegetables
and fruit
it consumption were also very low since they depend on their availability in the market and
household’s income level as well. The paper recommends to launch a major nutrition programs in order to
encourage the diversity of food consumption and to improve tthe he attitudes and capacity building for the
rural people in the dry land sector as well as in Sudan.

Keywards:: farm households, food patterns, food frequency, cereal foods, Sudan.

INTRODUCTION

A dietary pattern is defined as the nature, quality,
quantities, and proportion of different foods and drinks in a
diet. The dietary pattern commonly describes the food
shared by population, communities, or families. It is also
determined by ecological niches, the physical environment,
tradition, religion, or choice (WCRF, 2007). Food
consumption patterns are the main characteristics of the
local culture. Food consumption patterns describe the local
food availability in the country. However, people’s
knowledge, attitudes and perceptions, traditions,
itions, culture,
and social organization are the significant factors
influencing food consumption patterns as argued by Jenny
and Egal (2002) and FAO (2005B).
Sudan is one of the Sub-Saharan Saharan African (SSA)
countries suffering from a severe problem of food and
nutrition insecurity among its population during the last two
decades. Oil production and exports have a positive impact
on the economic growth and development. However, 50%
to 60% of the population is suffering from poverty and food
insecurity with a high variation among the regions (WFP, (
2006A).
A). This condition is attributed to two specific reasons.
The first reason is the drastically declining role of
agriculture, which supports the livelihood of 80% of the
population. The second reason is that the increase
in in the
economic growth and benefits from oil exports does not
trickle down to the poor. In fact, Sudan lost its self- self
sufficiency in cereal food grains due to serious drought,
civil war crises, and inappropriate government policies.
Consequently, rural al people have suffered from continuous
deterioration in their food consumption, which creates a

higher food deficit. Currently, Sudan lost a great part of its
oil revenue after the separation of South Sudan. This will
be expected to aggravate food insecurity and cause a
decline in economic growth in the country.
Sudan has been exemplified by a large diversity in its
ecological zones and agricultural environments. This
provides a wide range of crops and livestock produced
under this diversify ecosystem (Cambrezy and Magboul,
1998). There is a considerable variation in the dietary
diversity of food consumption patterns among different
states in Sudan. This represents the significant of
dissimilarity in the climatic conditions, agricultural
production, food availability, food accessibility and
population tastes. Additionally, the levels of wealth
considerably play an important role in determining the level
of dietary diversity of food consumption among Sudan's
states. Sudan is also characterized by higher variation
among the population, which constitutes different tribes
and sub-tribes distributed in the rural and urban areas. This
results in huge disparities in food consumption patterns
with different dietary food practices (Cambrezy and
Magboul, 1998).
In general, the Sudanese food diet is essentially
composed of cereals, milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables provide a good sources of
micronutrients, but the supply of meat and fish
representing other sources of micronutrients are limited
(FAO, 2005A). Conversely, cereal food is the major
contributor for both energy and protein; hence its
availability is the most important factor to ensure food
security in the country. Cereal foods comprise about 49.8%
of the total Dietary Energy Supply (DES) compared to the
other food groups. The contribution of milk, eggs, and fish
are about 16.9%, followed by sugar and sweets (10.1%),
roots and tubers (1.0%). However, the contribution of fruits
and vegetables to the DES is only about 3.5% (FAO,
2010). In this context, the food consumption pattern can be
assessed using food frequency. Food frequency expresses
the way and types of different food consumed. It is also
described the food consumption pattern for groups of
people in a specific community. In contrast, there are basic
factors affecting food consumption patterns for the
household members, including socioeconomic,
environmental, and political factors. Therefore, the paper
seeks to describe the food consumption patterns for the
rural farm households in the dry land sector of Sudan.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
North Kordofan State is located in the dry land agricultural
sector mainly in the Central Western part of Sudan. Its
composed of nine localities: Sheikan, Bara, Um-Ruwaba,
Gabrat El Sheikh, Sodari, El Nuhoud, Gebash, Wad
Banda, and Abu Zabad, of which four of them were merged
from the former West Kordofan State. The total number of
Samar and Ingrid-Ute. 181.
localities consists of approximately 33 administrative units
(MFEP, 2008). About 79% of the population is depending
on the agricultural activities in their livelihood system.
Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to
select the sample of the farm households from localities,
administrative units and villages. Thus, due to the better
standard of living conditions, a higher density of the
population is concentrated mainly in the bigger localities of
Um-Ruwaba, Sheikan, and Bara in contrast to the other
localities. For this reason these three localities were
selected for the study. Accordingly, a sample of the 17
villages was selected from 7 administrative units. The total
selected sample size was about 200 farm households, this
approximately represented 6% from the total number of
farm households in the study area (the total number of
farm households is about 3,209). The primary data was
collected through the field survey using food frequency
questionnaire. The food frequency survey is also used to
collect data on dietary habits and food pattern (Max
Rubner Institute, 2008). Food frequency describes how
often the farm household had to rely on the consumption of
a specific type of food during a specific period of time (i.e.
a week). This gives a complete picture on the status of the
household’s food consumption pattern. Food frequency
represents one of the retrospective methods that used to
assess how often different amounts of foods are frequently
consumed. The food frequency usually measures the
relative frequency of food consumed rather than the
quantity of food consumed. The food frequency survey is
conducted through the collection of information on how
many times per week the household eats a particular type
of foods. It can be selective for specific food or for all foods
likely to be eaten.
Nevertheless, food frequency doesn’t exhibit the actual
levels of caloric and nutrient intake contained in the daily
food consumption. The descriptive statistic analysis using
percentages was applied to analyze the food consumption
pattern of the farm households in North Kordofan State.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of food frequency in the dry land sector of
Sudan are summarized in Table 1. This table contains four
important parts of foods consumed. These are cereal and
tubers foods, animal foods, vegetables and fruits, and
finally beverages and sweets. The majority of the farm
households in the Western part of Sudan depend on cereal
food consumption, mainly of millet and sorghum. Cereal
foods are consumed by farm households in the form of
traditional food products such as “Asida” or “Kisra.” “Asida”
is a stiff porridge and represents stable food in the Western
part of Sudan. It is made either from millet or sorghum
(Dirar, 1993). On the other hand, “Kisra” is a pancake of
thin wafers baked from fermented flour of millet or sorghum
(Hashim, 2008). It appears from the Table 1 that 60% and
182. Basic Res. J. Agric. Sci. Rev.
70% of the farm households rarely consume millet “Asida”
or millet “Kisra,” respectively. In contrast, about 55% and
22.5% of the farm households consume sorghum “Kisra”
once and twice per week, respectively. The farm
households who daily consume sorghum “Asida” are about
57.5%. It is observable from the table that the farm
households who consume sorghum “Asida” increase from
“every other day” (31.5%) to “daily” (57.5%) compared to
those who consume both millet “Asida” and millet “Kisra.”
About 55% and 5.5% of the farm households consume
sorghum “Kisra” “one time per week” and “every day,”
respectively. This points out that the daily consumption of
sorghum “Kisra” is slightly lower compared to the daily
consumption of sorghum “Asida.” Millet is consumed
mainly in the Western parts of the country, particularly
Kordofan and Darfur as reported by Cambrezy and
Magboul (1998), FSU (2005) and FAO (2005B)
In spite of the importance of millet products in the
household food patterns, its consumption seems to be less
than that of sorghum products. The higher prices of millet
forced the farm households to shift their consumption from
millet products to sorghum. Likewise, the fluctuation in
rainfall and its instability negatively influences the
production of millet. Similarly, Hashim (2008) studied food
frequency for rural households in West Kordofan State. He
reported a higher consumption of cereal food among the
farm households. The consumption of sorghum products
was increased and that of millet was decreased. He also
pointed out the decline in the consumption of millet as a
result of higher variations in millet production due to
climatic changes and unaffordable price.
The overall consumption of cereal implies the importance
of energy foods for the rural farm households. From a
nutritional point of view, such cereal food products are
considered caloric and protein sources; however, they are
insufficient for a balanced foods diet. Previous studies
concerning the nutritional quality of the grain sorghum and
the main products manufactured from it (e.g. “Asida” and
“Kisra”) showed that it is basically deficient in lysine amino
acid and therefore has a low biological value. The study
also proved that the fermentation of cereals as a food
processing method improves the protein quality (Eggum et
al., 1983). Nonetheless, the protein availability in sorghum
product might be adversely affected (Yousif, 2000; Fageer
and El Tinay, 2004).
Furthermore, Table 1 illustrates about 55.5% of the farm
households consume bread made from wheat “once a
week.” The low consumption of bread made from wheat is
due to limited bakeries in rural areas. This implies a slight
change in food consumption patterns from cereal food
products to wheat bread. Analogous findings related to the
change in food consumption patterns was reported by
Hassan and Magboul (2001). They discussed that the Dar
Hamids tribe who migrated from Kordofan to Khartoum
State shifted their consumption from millet to bread.
Magboul et al. (2002) also reported the shift to the
consumption of wheat bread among the migrants from
Western and Southern Sudan to the Khartoum State.
Additionally the table shows that 61% of the farm
households consume tubers “once per week.” Tuber foods
are mostly potatoes and sweet potatoes. Cassava, yams,
and sweet potatoes are consumed in the Southern part
(FAO, 2005B).
Table 1 also exposes the consumption frequency of
protein food, which includes: meat, milk, poultry, eggs, and
pulses. About 65.5% of the farm households consume cow
meat once a week. The low consumption of fresh meat is
due to the weekly market and higher cost of meat for rural
people. The same result was obtained by Hashim (2008).
He reported that the majority of the rural households
consumed meat “once per week.” He also argued that the
higher cost of meat for rural people is the most important
difficulty for the low consumption of fresh meat. The
consumption of meat, poultry, and eggs depend mostly on
the purchasing power of the people as argued by
Cambrezy and Magboul (1998). Similarly, to overcome the
low consumption of fresh meat, the rural households use
dried meat locally known as “Sharmout” in order to prepare
their traditional foods of stable sauce or cooked foods.
They also use dried intestine either alone or mixed with
cowpeas to prepare the sauce. “Kawal” is the local name of
another alternative fresh meat produced from dry
fermented leaf products, to which the farm household add
the traditional food sauce in order to give it “a meaty
flavor.” “Kawal” is used as a meat substitute as discussed
by Dirar (1993). Divergent findings on the consumption
frequency of meat was obtained by the MOH and WHO
(1997). They found that 24% of the total population
consumed meat every day in six states (Kassala, South
Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, Gezira, and River Nile).
Table 1 also shows that about 52.2% and 52% of the farm
households “rarely” consume poultry in the form of chicken
meat and eggs, respectively. Despite the low cost of
chicken meat and eggs compared to cow meat, their
consumption is still quite low. This denotes a lack of
knowledge on the contribution of these food items to
protein intake. Accordingly, animal protein intake in
household food consumption is provided only through the
consumption of cow meat.
In spite of the important production of livestock in the dry
land sector of North Kordofan State, its contribution to
direct protein consumption is very low. This implies that the
livestock is mostly used as a source of income and hence
contributes only indirectly to the household’s food
consumption. The slaughter of livestock for daily home
consumption is unusual condition. Although, during the
time of festival and happy occasions the slaughter of
livestock for consumption is a source of pride. Only 13% of
the farm households consume fresh milk “every day,” while
17.5% consume fresh milk “once per week,” as shown in
Table 1. The farm households who consume fresh milk are
low regardless of how many milk-producing animals,
 Samar and Ingrid-Ute 183.

Table 1. Food frequency for the rural farm households in the dry land sector of Sudan, 2008/09

Food Item % of Food frequency Total (N=200)

None Rarely Once Twice Every Daily
/week /week other day
Millet “Asida” 4 60 26.5 9.5 0 0 100
Millet “Kisra” 11 70 15 4 0 0 100
Sorghum “Asida” 0 0 7 4 31.5 57.5 100
Sorghum “Kisra” 0 4 55 22.5 13 5.5 100
Bread wheat 14.5 26 55.5 4 0 0 100
Starch tuber 8 22 61 9 0 0 100
Cow meat 11 8 65.5 15.5 0 0 100
Poultry chicken 43.5 52.5 4 0 0 0 100
Poultry eggs 25 52 23 0 0 0 100
Fresh milk 35 34.5 17.5 0 0 13 100
Pulses 0 3.5 32 50 9 5 100
Vegetables 9.5 23.5 57.5 9.5 0 0 100
Fresh Fruits 33.5 57 9.5 0 0 0 100
Wild fruits 41.5 38.5 20 0 0 0 100
Sweets 33.5 38 28.5 0 0 0 100
Beverages 58 36 6 0 0 0 100

particularly cows and goats, are raised and kept. The
reason is that the rural households who produce fresh milk
usually sell it for cash in order to cover their other
expenses. This outcome to some extent concurs with the
findings from the study of Hashim (2008). He argued that
the daily consumption of milk for rural households is about
58.8%, which is less than the consumption of the urban
households. The rural people are milk producers who
usually sell their production to the urban city areas. The
disparity between the daily consumption of milk is mostly
an upshot of the seasonal variation. For instance, in the
end of the rainy season the production of milk increases
due to the availability of pastures and better grazing
conditions. Similar outcome was obtained from the study of
Cambrezy and Magboul (1998). They argued that the
consumption of milk varied from a maximum intake by
nomads followed by the households who own and raise
milk-producing animals (mostly in rural areas) to those who
have to buy it. For the nomadic people milk is sometimes
the main source of energy, protein, and other nutrients
(Dirar, 1993 and FAO, 2005B). However, in most rural
areas people seek to sell milk and other animal products
for needed cash. A contrary outcome concerning the
consumption of milk based on food frequency was
provided from the study of the MOH and WHO (1997).
They found that 73% of the total population consumed milk
every day in six states (Kassala, South Darfur, North
Kordofan, Red Sea, Gezira, and River Nile).
Pulses (legumes) present a cheaper protein source for
rural households. The important pulses in the rural area of
North Kordofan State are bonavist beans, Dolichus lablab,
local name, “liba affin,” and cowpeas, local name, “luba
hilo” (Vigna unginculata). Table 1 shows that 32% and 50%
of the farm households consume pulses “once per week”
and “twice per week,” respectively. The increase in the
consumption of pulses during the week is mostly due to its
low price and availability in the local market.
Table 1 presents the frequency consumption of
vegetables and fruits as well. The percentage of the farm
households who consume vegetables “once per week” is
about 57.5%. On the other hand, about 23.5% of the farm
households “rarely” consume vegetables. The consumption
of vegetables is mainly related to its availability in the
village market and the income level of the household.
Parallel findings were obtained from the study of Al Jaloudi
(2000). He found that the consumption of vegetables was
low among rural people. In the rural areas, fruits and
vegetables are a function of seasonal production, while in
urban areas their accessibility extends to the whole year.
The consumption of fruits and vegetables is based on
purchasing power as discussed by Cambrezy and Magboul
(1998).
In contrast, rural households who “rarely” consume fresh
fruits are about 57%. This result coincides with the findings
from the study of Hashim (2008). He reported that the
consumption of fresh fruits was even less than that of
vegetables. In this context, a survey on food consumption
based on the food frequency in six states (Kassala, South
Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, Gezira, and River Nile)
showed that only 8% of the households consumed fruits
daily (MOH and WHO, 1997). The low consumption of
fresh fruits among the selected farm households is due to
insufficient income, which is the main constraint for
purchasing such type of food. Fresh fruits are considered a
luxury because of their higher prices, and most of them are
not produced in the state. The low consumption of
vegetables and fresh fruits might influence the
micronutrient intake of vitamins and minerals for the rural
households. In contrast, the frequent consumption of wild
fruits is also revealed in Table 1. The rural households who
184. Basic Res. J. Agric. Sci. Rev.
consume wild fruits “once per week” are about 20%. The
wild fruits Adansonia digitata, local name “Baobab,”
Zizyphus spina-christi, local name “Nabag,” and
Tamarindus indica, local name “Aradieb,” represent the
main sources of vitamins and minerals. The consumption
of wild food is seasonal and usually gathered by children.
Cambrezy and Magboul (1998) reported that wild fruits in
rural areas are consumed seasonally when they are
available. In urban areas accessibility to wild fruits depends
on the market. Conversely, the low consumption of wild
fruits is due to a decline in the forest products as an effect
of environmental troubles of desertification, drought, and
deforestation. The consumption of wild fruits will lead to
increase in hemoglobin and serum ferrtin levels as
reported by Khieri et al. (2006).
Table 1 exposes the consumption frequency of sweets
and beverages. It appears that about 33.5% and 58% of
the farm households “never” consume sweets and
beverages, respectively. The consumption of both foods
seems to be very low among the rural households. The low
household income is one of the major causes for low
consumption of sweets and beverages. This finding
coincides with the outcome from the study of Hashim
(2008). He mentioned that about 79.2% and 82.5% of the
rural households in Western Kordofan State rarely
consumed beverages and sweets.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The food frequency highlights the crucial aspects of
household consumption in the dry land sector of North
Kordofan State. The food consumption patterns were
dominated largely by caloric foods including the grain foods
of millet and sorghum. Unfortunately, the high market
prices and the fluctuation of millet production made its
consumption quite low compared to sorghum. The
consumption of protein food sources such as meat, milk,
poultry, and eggs is very low. For cash, the farm
households sell fresh milk, thus its consumption is
relatively low despite of raising and keeping milk-producing
animals at the home. Therefore, livestock and their
products indirectly supported the consumption of protein
and other foods. Pulses including beans and cowpeas are
cheaper sources of protein intake. The consumption of
vegetables and fruits was also very low, since its
availability depends on the village market and the
household’s income. The farm households are
characterized by insufficient food, an imbalance in the food
diet, and lack of food diversity. Consequently, the
inadequate consumption of animal-source foods in the food
diet and low consumption of vegetables and fruits as well
are often the main sources of micronutrients deficiencies.
This paper develops different policy implications that
should be adopted in order to improve food consumption
patterns for the rural households. The government should
launch a major nutrition program to improve the nutrition
situation and awareness among the households.
Encourage the production and consumption of legume
foods in rural areas, since they contain higher values of
protein and other nutrient as well. Further, improve the
attitudes and capacity building for rural people through
successful education programs that develop the capacity of
the farming system. Likewise, boosting the level of
household income through both farming and off-farm
activities is also important for better dietary patterns.
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