Ethnobiologie des dynamiques culturales et transition alimentaire en milieu villageois “Tchoyasso” de Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

The history of human evolution has been marked by the possibilities of adapting to the nourishing offers of nature since the primitive societies of hunter-gatherers until the advent of agriculture in the Neolithic and its transmission to contemporary populations. Thus, the anthropization of environments by human populations contributes to the development of various agricultural practices according to the subsistence needs. In particular, the African continent constitutes a geographical space of bushy expression of this existential continuum that sets in motion the co-evolution of farming methods with societal dynamics. The present study addresses in this context, the question of the impact factors related to a reconfiguration of the ecosystem of agricultural and food practices among "Tchoyasso" people in the South forest of Côte d'Ivoire. Empirical observations made in the field reveal that rubber cultivation has grown on the traditional cocoa cultivation with collateral effects of reduction of arable land for food crops. This causes community tensions related to rural land holdings. Diachronic analysis of the data following an ethnobiological approach, demonstrates an ecosystem mutation in agricultural practices resulting correlatively, an adaptive process of food transition in peasant populations. Thus, a dynamic of intensification of cassava production with new cultivation techniques and the marketing of edible derivatives appear as an alternative to food self-sufficiency and social economy.

Keywords

• ethnobiology; cultural dynamic; food transition ; côte d’ivoire.