Variability of agricultural income for empowerment: Case of cucumber and potato leaves producers in Goréké (San Pedro – Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship in rural areas in French-speaking Africa is more related to rural, processing and marketing activities. The objective of this study is to present the variability of agricultural income of female producers for their empowerment. To this end, fifty female producers from the village of Goréké were interviewed. The areas, poultry droppings + sawdust, NPK 12 22 22, masses and incomes were observed. A Principal Component Analysis showed that on a hectare of cucumber, reasonable amounts of NPK 12 22 22 (80 kg) and organic residue (6,000 kg) provided the best mass (16,000 kg). At the level of potato leaves, 1,600 kg of organic residue and 20 kg of NPK provided the best mass (1,600 kg). Furthermore, the potato leaf producer had an average income during the shortage period of 2226,642 ± 1602,093 CFA francs compared to that of cucumber which is 584,714 ± 296,718 CFA francs. On the other hand, during the abundance period, the average incomes are respectively 713,793 ± 536,983 for potato leaves and 467,771 ± 237,374 CFA francs for cucumber. This difference is explained by the higher selling price per kilogram of potato leaves. In conclusion, the potato leaf producer would be more financially independent. In perspective, training will be provided to market gardeners to optimize the masses produced by rationalizing the masses of fertilizer used for an improvement in income.