Patterns and Determinants of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Urban and Rural Areas of Enugu State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the patterns and determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption in urban and rural areas of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study was articulated based on the fact that despite the relatively cheap and abundant sources of micro nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, there abound wide spread cases of micro nutrient deficiencies. The data was collected from primary sources through a set of questionnaire administered to 240 respondents. The study employed both purposive and random sampling technique in the selection of the respondents. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, Working –Leser functional form of regression and z- test statistic. Citrus, mango, plantain/banana, pineapples, papaya, star apple were the major types of fruits consumed, while, telferia, tomatoes, onions, garden eggs, okra and oha were the major vegetables consumed by the households. The result also showed that the average monthly consumption of fruit per household during the dry season was 17.8kg and 9.8kg for urban and rural areas, respectively while the average monthly consumption per household of fruits during the rainy season was 15.32kg and 12.87kg for urban and rural areas, respectively. It was 8.68kg for urban and 23.29kg for rural areas for vegetables during the dry season while it was 6.98kg for urban areas and 28.43kg for rural areas per monthly per household during the rainy season. The average budget share was 0.0849 for vegetables for households in the urban areas and 0.0690 for those in the rural areas. When pooled together; it was 0.0828 for fruits and 0.0769 for vegetables. Household’s monthly expenditure, number of adult females, age of household head, educational attainment of the household head, price, season and sex were determinants of fruit consumption in the urban areas. Total monthly expenditure, number of children, number of adult females, age of household head, educational attainment of household head and sex were determinants of vegetable consumption in the urban areas. In the rural areas, number of children, age of the household head, educational attainment of the household head, price of fruits and season were determinants of fruits consumption, whereas, total expenditure, number of adult males, number of adult females, age of household head, educational attainment of the household head and price of vegetables were determinants of vegetable consumption. All these variables were significant at various levels of probability ranging from one to ten percent with different signs. Income elasticities were below one; ranging from 0.47 to 0.70. The income elasticity for fruit in urban areas was 0.60 and 0.47 in the rural areas. It was 0.60 for vegetables in the urban areas and 0.49 in the rural areas. It is therefore recommended that there is need to put in place policies to promote and support fruit and vegetable consumption. Secondly, attention should focus on the processing of fruits and vegetables into forms that can be stored. This will reduce post – harvest losses as well as making fruits and vegetables available in all the seasons. Again, education and behaviour change programmes to promote fruit and vegetable consumption should be mounted. Fruit and vegetable production should be encouraged particularly in the rural areas. In the same vein, feeder roads should be built and already built ones maintained. This will help transport these produce to the urban areas. This will also promote availability and affordability of these products.