Producers’ innovation and socioeconomic adaptation of the farms in the cotton savannas zone of the Central African Republic

Abstract type : Short presentation
Submitted by : MARIE BRICE VOPEYANDE
Authors and Speakers : Marie Brice Vopeyande

Information about other authors :

ICRA, BP 1762 Bangui Rép. Centrafricaine

Tél. : (236) 75 05 77 83/70 99 20 27

The culture of cotton practiced in the Central African Republic goes back up to 1920. It is more and more abandoned because of some effects bound to internationalization and the privatization of the cotton sector. Supported by international partners, the state, in the years 70, assured the exemption from payment of the inputs (insecticide, manure) to the populations. The producers were encouraged to practice this culture by the regular visit of the researchers and extension’s agents. However, the international and national economic context doesn't grant this multiple aid anymore to the producers. Facing the artificial decrease of the cotton prices on the world markets, the producer in the Central African doesn't arrive anymore to make the culture of cotton profitable. This one is abandoned progressively or is associated to cassava in all cotton savannas of the country. This change reverberates on the totality of the agricultural system of the country.  

Cassava, basis of food of the Central African populations, contributes in the formation of GDP in height of 212.8 billions in 2003, either 31% of the GDP. It is practiced in all exploitations. Its production in 2002 has been estimated to 600°000 tons of flour and concerned 40% of the farms. It average yields is estimated to 3 tons of cassava flour per hectare. 

The cassava is consumed under several shapes (ball, spinach, chikwangue, gari, etc.) by almost all the population. It is also one of the main sources of incomes of the households because it can be sold all year round. According to the result of a study achieved by research, cassava generates a net margin, after domestic consumption, of 275.000 FCFA/ha (Kadékoy-Tigagué, 2006).

The institutions of research and development that succeed each other always forbid to associate cotton to other cultures. But after 70 years, this interdiction didn't have any favourable effects by the producers. The diagnoses realized in 2000, 2001 and 2006 in the cotton savannas showed that more than 65% of the cotton fields have been associated to cassava. 

To understand the reasons of this farmer practice which goes back to several decades, we had conducted in place in the villages of Gouzé, Ngoumbélé and Ngouyali (PRASAC 1, Centrafrique), a survey diagnosis permitting to act on the improvement of new technical itineraries based on the participative approach.

The spatial arrangement adopted in this test is of 1 cotton line for 1 line of cassava, and represent 50% of the fields investigated. The results show that this spatial arrangement is one of the reasons of the decrease of cotton yield. 

The clarification of the technical itineraries improved promises a salutary’s solution while enhancing the animal traction and the complementarities of these two cultures. Without reducing the level of yield of the cotton seed, this association allows to have a park of cassava seed of proximity since the 2nd year of production and to reduce the insects pressure (mosaic africanum) due to the insecticide products applied on cotton.

However, if an improved technology is adopted, it remains however to set up a new formula of mineral fertilizer because the cassava has been a very exhausting culture in nutritive elements (N = 15 kg/ha; P2O5=22,4 kg/ha; K2O=33,3 kg/ha; CaO=33,15 kg/ha and MgO=27 kg/ha for 8476 kg/ha of tubers) and producing 10 000 kg/ha on average. 

The objective of research led by the author is to understand the evolution of this practice at the intra-domestic level and to co construct with the actors the adequate technical itineraries for a sustainable management of this practice in the Central African Republic. 

Keywords :
farmer innovation, association cotton cassava, technical itineraries, savannas, Central African Republic