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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Food choice factors in developing countries: The case of Madagascar

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International audience; Madagascar, a developing country, suffers from seasonal poverty. Although some natural resources exist, malnutrition problems continue to affect a large proportion of the population especially in rural areas. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of geographical and economical environments on food choice determinants in Madagascar. Focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys were carried out to investigate the representations of the concepts of eating and nutrition in four areas in Madagascar: Antananarivo urban (AU) and rural (AR), in the centre part of Madagascar, and Antsiranana urban (DU) and rural (DR), in the northern coast. In all areas 72 parents of schooled children participated in the focus groups and 1000 in the questionnaire surveys. Focus groups were conducted using a semi structured interview guide. Audio recordings of the groups were transcribed verbatim. Major themes and subthemes were identified, and representative quotes were selected. Questionnaires were analysed using chi square tests and correspondence analysis to emphasize the similarities or differences between areas. Price, diversity and health were the most important factors in overall households’ food choice. Parents in AU and AR were more concerned by health, nutrients contents and cleanliness of foods, whereas children’s liking was emphasized in DU, and in DR parents took more into account satiation, availability and habit. Differences between rural and urban areas were visible in Antsiranana but not in Antananarivo. These results underline the necessity to take into account the geographical and social environments into educational programs to valorise neglected high nutritious foods available in Madagascar.