Abstract
Valuation of farmer knowledge has been seen as a route to promote sustainable use of plant genetic resources. In pineapple production systems in Benin, inadequate knowledge of cultivation practices can lead to a number of inconveniences including abandon of some varieties and cultivars. To understand how farmer’s knowledge and cultivation practices impact the sustainable utilization of pineapple genetic resources, we surveyed 177 pineapple farmers in southern Benin. We assessed farmers’ knowledge and analyzed the relationship between their knowledge and factors such as age, education, and locality of provenance. Pineapple production system was dominated by men (96% respondents). According to farmers, Smooth cayenne is international market-oriented while Sugarloaf mainly targets domestic and regional markets. All farmers recognized that Smooth cayenne provided more income (USD 5,750/ha) than sugarloaf (USD 3,950/ha) in the production systems of southern Benin. The high value of median scores in comparison with the range of possible score showed that most farmers agreed and shared relatively similar knowledge. Correlation matrix and multiple linear regressions showed a significant relationship between farmers’ practices and their knowledge of the plant; their knowledge of pineapple varieties is based on fruits traits. Also, farmer’s knowledge was associated with locality of provenance. Constraints and options for genetic resources conservation and utilization in the pineapple production systems in Southern Benin were discussed based on current knowledge.
Highlights
Crop genetic diversity serves to buffer environmental constraints and to sustain traditional farming systems (Gepts 2006; Samberg et al 2013)
Study area The study was carried out from September 2012 to June 2013 in thirty four villages of eleven counties located in five municipalities of Southern Benin namely Allada, Tori, Toffo, Zê and Abomey-Calavi known as the pineapple production areas in the country (Figure 1 and Table 1)
Production systems and polarization of farmer’s knowledge and preferences Our data showed that the pineapple production was dominated by men
Summary
Crop genetic diversity serves to buffer environmental constraints and to sustain traditional farming systems (Gepts 2006; Samberg et al 2013). The search for homogenous and high yielding varieties, with their associated bulk of agricultural inputs (e.g. chemicals, farm machinery, irrigation) and the development of markets are still threatening the reliance of farmers upon genetic diversity (Swanson and Goeschl 2000) when elite cultivars are promoted This debate started some years back and effort has been put to farmers may overlook low yielding varieties and not show interest to the conservation of their genetic resources that might be useful today and tomorrow as potential resources for sustaining smallholders’ livelihoods or breeding programs. Such knowledge if well understood offers a valid window towards sustainable implementation of conservation and utilization strategies
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