Espace populations sociétés (Jan 2019)
Agriculture urbaine à Ziguinchor (Sénégal) : des pratiques d’autoconsommation favorables à l’essor de filières d’approvisionnement urbaines durables
Abstract
Located in south-western of Senegal, Ziguinchor is in Lower Casamance. Developed on a river site, it offers favorable ecological conditions to develop agricultural activities. However, this ecological advantages are affected by a population growth that generates some direct and indirect issues. This article examines the role of urban farmers in supplying the city by identifying the actors involved, the methods of access to land, their practices and the way in which agricultural activity contributes to securing their income.In the absence of official statistics, the latter authors’ statement is confirmed in the city through a questionary methodology near 248 farmers and 130 vegetable traders in 2016 and 2017. The choice of Ziguinchor is relevant. The urban extension that goes back to the 1970s contributes both to the de-structuring of agricultural spaces and the stronger demand for foodstuffs, which grows as the municipal area has been enlarged (from 3 400 ha in 1972 to 4 450 ha since 2002). For farmers’ perspectives, the challenge is twofold. The first challenge is to be able to maintain family self-consumption in rice, despite a retreat of arable land, while the second one is relay on generating income through the sale of vegetables for the purchase of food during the lean season. Unlike other cities in West Africa, women play a key role in the local agricultural value chain (i.e. from production to marketing) by combining several production sites: one site in home, in the shallows and other in the plateau. This combination of several production sites is fundamental not only for their own food security, but also for that of the city. Moreover, the durability of their practices supposes the integration of urban agriculture in voluntary urban development policies.
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