CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF MAIZE BASED DISHES IN FOUR AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF NIGERIA

The global picture had dramatically changed the lifestyles of Nigerian citizens pushing them into various fast-eating cultures with more instant and tasty meals, and the attendant gradual relegation of our traditional rich eating cultures. Studies were carried in eight Local Government Areas of Nigeria from the four Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) namely: moist savanna (Oyo State), humid forest (Lagos State), mid-altitude (Abuja) and dry Savanna (Kaduna State). Stratified multistage sampling technique with structured questionnaires from 1641 respondents and focus group discussions (FGDs) were employed to identify the maize-based dishes consumed and determined the frequency of consumption. The demographic characteristics revealed that 54.8% of the respondents were male. Residents in the rural area were more (56.8%) and majority of the respondents were between the ages of 26-45 years (67.6%), while more Christians (57.88%) participated in the study than any other religion. Results showed that thirty–two maize-based dishes were identified, of which ten were frequently consumed. Ogi was the most popular maize-based dish (73.5%) consumed in the AEZs while corn pudding was the least consumed (28.5%). There were significant differences (p<0.05) in all the sensory attributes measured. The low consumption of majority of the maize-based dishes raises concern for the current campaign on mobilizing local biodiversity which has been reported to be one of the food based intervention strategies for solving nutrition problems among population groups.