Socio-economic Diagnosis of Ornamental Horticulture in Togo

Abstract

Production systems in ornamental horticulture in Togo are very diverse in terms of speculation, access to land (variable surfaces, direct or indirect forms of tenure, acquisition methods and land use, etc.) and socio-economic profiles of farmers (men, women, young, old, people with little or no qualifications, rural to urban, etc.). The family horticultural production system, which represents over 90% of 55 horticultural farms of this study, is the main production system. It is characterized by areas of less than 0.1 hectare and farms in relative land insecurity (97% of land used to belong to the state). Throughout the system, there is a salaried labor representing 5-8% of turnover. Temporary and permanent employees are paid on weekends or at the end of the month. Farmers use gardening equipment and processing plant more or less modern including clippers, shears, pruners and sprayers. Production units provide direct employment (more than 3 employees per unit) and directly to several hundred people. Horticulture in urban and peri-urban areas improves the living conditions of farmers (income) and the population (embellishment of streets, maintenance or creation of green areas buffer) despite some negative externalities associated particularly with the use of prohibited pesticides and uncontrolled use of spaces along the roads. Its survival is threatened by many constraints, including the extension of urban housing and road building. In Togo, beneficial effects of ornamental horticulture may be more noticeable if the political authorities, private stakeholders and the researchers work together to organize the sector. It could thus participate effectively in the formal economy, and the emergence of true development plans at the municipal level.