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SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF URBAN MARKETS SUPPLY CHAINS OF INDIGENOUS LEAFY VEGETABLES IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

2009; International Society for Horticultural Science; Issue: 806 Linguagem: Inglês

10.17660/actahortic.2009.806.61

2406-6168

A. Mahyao, Christophe Kouamé, Edith Agbo, Jean Claude NZi, Lassina Fondio, Patrick Van Damme,

Agriculture and Rural Development Research

With the rapid urbanization in developing countries, urban markets’ supply with nutritive food is a major concern. Indigenous Leafy vegetables (ILVs) have high nutritive values. They are often grown in urban and peri-urban areas in Cote d’Ivoire. Socio-economic surveys were conducted in 2006 to caracterize the market supply chain of ILVs in the two biggest cities (Abidjan and Yamoussoukro) of the country. A rapid appraisal of the chain revealed three types of production sites; main, secondary and marginal where indigenous leafy vegetables are cultivated as sole crops, associated crops or spontaneous crops, respectively. It was also found that rural markets of Yamoussoukro constitute suppliers of ILVs to the city where the vegetables are commercialized on secondary urban markets (93 %). In Abidjan, ILVs are commercialized on principal urban markets (66 %). The study showed that the markets supply chains are dominated by women (100 % at Yamoussoukro and 97.5 % at Abidjan). Principal actors in the chains are the producer-retailers, the wholesaler-retailers and the retailers. These traders are young and are of different social background. In majority, traders are illiterate (76 % at Yamoussoukro and 67 % at Abidjan). On the whole of the two cities, the economic value of indigenous leafy vegetables sold on markets goes from 0.4 to 3.60 $US per day. The most important revenues come from retailing jute mallow (Corchorus spp) (3.60 $US in Abidjan) and sweet potato leaves (Ipomea batatas) (2.99 $US in Abidjan and 1.71 $US in Yamoussoukro). Considering a maximum investment cost made by traders (1 $US per day in Abidjan and 0.5 $US per day in Yamoussoukro), retailing any of these two indigenous vegetables yielded profit of more than the poverty line (1 $US per day).