Research Symposium-2015

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Browsing Research Symposium-2015 by Author "Abeysinghe, A.M.I.P."

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    Patterns of fresh fruit consumption of households in Kurunegala
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2015) Abeysinghe, A.M.I.P.; Hettiarachchi, I.C.; Sivashankar, P.; Mahaliyanaarachchi, R.P.
    Agriculture is the most common vocation of the Sri Lankan. Different varieties of fruits are cultivated in Sri Lanka’s varied agro-climatic regions. Fruits play a major role in the well-being of consumers. Consumption of fruits contributes to an increase in the nutritional level of people. The food pyramid developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends, 2-4 servings of fruits per day (Life clinic international, 2010). According to MRI the daily per capita requirement of fruits for a balanced diet should be 30‐40 g (edible portion), which is approximately equivalent to 25‐40 kg fresh fruit per head per year. However, Sri Lanka’s per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables remains far below the required average daily intake (Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, 2010). In the process of enhancing fruit consumption, it is very useful to consider the needs, preferences and behavior of consumers. The main objective of this study is to find demand for different fruit types and the factors that influence households consuming of different fruit types. Methodology A deductive research approach was followed. Survey strategy was used as a research strategy. Primary Data were collected through an interviewer administered questionnaires and most research questions had descriptive purposes. Before collecting data pilot test was used to identify the problems while responding to the questionnaires. Kurunegala District in North Western Province, was selected as the research area. It consists of 30 Divisional Secretariats, 1610 Grama Niladari Divisions and 4476 total Villages (Department of Census and Statistics, 2009). Kurunegala district has 412,897 households (District Statistical Branch, Kurunegala). The sample size was about 153 households which are from Kurunegala District. The stratified random sampling technique was used as sampling method to select households Types of fresh fruit consumption among different households and consumption frequency of different fruit types were analyzed by descriptive analysis. Chi-square Test was the statistical analytical tool applied in identification of consumption pattern of across various household groups. Microsoft Excel and Minitab 14.0 Software programs were used to analyze the data. Results and Discussion Results reveal that there is no significant difference between three types of locality groups (urban, semi urban and rural) when they are consuming fruits. But rural residents had low expenditure on fruits compared to the urban and semi-urban resident, due to varieties of local fruit available in their home garden. Banana, papaw, mangoes and pineapple are the major fruits consumed in the Kurunegala District. The majority of the respondent did not intake fruit as daily consuming food. In Household fruit consumption, those who do not consume fruits daily, consume fruits around 3-4 days per week. In the study household banana consumption was 3 days per week while papaya, mango, and pineapple are consumed 2-3 days in a week. According to the food pyramid developed by USDA, Kurunegala district household’s fruit consumption is lower. Relationship between Social, Economic Characteristics and Fruit consumption Studies prove that age, gender, household size, income, occupation, education level, marital status significantly affects household fruit consumption (Whichelow and Prevost, 1996; Mirmiran et al., 2009; Billson, 1999). The data were in line with previous findings from the USDA, that the major factors affecting fruits consumptions were income, age and education of consumers (Biing, 2004). Table 01, shows there are significant relationships between marital status, occupation, education level, income with household fruit consumption at the 0.05 significance level. At the same time, there were no significant relationship between gender, household size and age towards household fruit consumption at the 0.05 significance level. Therefore, in this study, household income, occupation, marital status, and education level have a significant relationship with household fruit consumption and age, household size and gender did not significantly affect the household fruit consumption.