RTB Breeding for Quality is a part of the broader RTB breeding project that comprises activities aimed at integrating processing and eating quality of boiled sweetpotato in routine breeding, continuing the progress RTBfoods project (2018 - 2023) achieved. For sweetpotato, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), instrumental texture analysis and draft consumer acceptability / rejection thresholds were among the main outputs. Under RTB Breeding for Quality, the application of these tools in routine breeding should be implemented to demonstrate their contribution to making breeding selections.

II. Objective

To extract sweetpotato genotypes with superior quality traits from breeding populations using SOPs developed in the RTBfoods project (routine quality analysis of sweetpotato harvests)
To evaluate thresholds of acceptability / rejection of selected essential quality traits for boiled sweetpotato in Uganda
III. Deliverables

Develop consumer test questionnaire and present it to interdisciplinary team for review - product = final version of questionnaire
Retool trained sensory panel - final activity report
Train enumerators who will administer consumer tests - workshop report
Organise and conduct consumer tests and participatory processing quality tests in urban and rural location with selected panel of genotypes grown in Namulonge - field activity report eKVDjsk Dmtn0a
Conduct quality tests on samples used in consumer tests including descriptive sensory analysis- curate, collate, organize all quality data and draft report including results from consumer tests and participatory processing quality and develop models to validate cooking quality thresholds
Routine quality analysis of sweetpotato harvests - cooking quality report on genotypes from 2023B and 2024A harvests
IV. Time frame

Consultancy contract will be for 131 days.
Requirements

Selection Criteria

BSc Food Science
Consumer-led food product development, food analysis
Sensory analysis, experimental design, surveys, data management, data analysis, report writing
At least 3 years experience
Conducting field surveys, statistical data analysis and interpretation, communication skills, interpersonal and leadership skills
Experience with potato and sweetpotato value chains is an added advantage