Food typology of traditional foods based on millet, sorghum and cowpea from the rural communes of north central region of Burkina Faso

Food vulnerability is a growing plague in developing countries, neglecting local foods. Better knowledge of local foods is necessary to improve their consumption. The objective of this study is to identify the types of local millet, sorghum and cowpea foods in the North Central Region from a socio-cultural perspective. The methodology consisted of organizing 12 focus groups to respond to an individual questionnaire on the socio-cultural characteristics of participants and their knowledge of their millet, sorghum and cowpea-based diet. The focus groups targeted women and men in the young, adult and senior age groups in the communes of Lebda and Boussouma. Among the traditional dishes inventoried, 25 commonly consumed dishes were selected and reproduced by rural women. A total of 44 traditional foods, 3 improved traditional foods and 4 imported foods based on millet, sorghum and cowpea were inventoried. Socio-cultural knowledge of these foods differed by age group, but was identical for the two rural communes. Among these foods, some are consumed routinely or occasionally, while others are specific to vulnerable groups. Knowledge of the types of foods will help guide nutrition policy to promote the consumption of some types of foods.