Forage plants in Daloa city livestock market: specific diversity, market practices and economic land
Abstract
The sale of forage is little known to the majority of people in Côte d'Ivoire. The target of the study is to identify the forage species marketed in the livestock markets of Daloa and to estimate the financial profitability of this activity in the socio-economic life of the actors of the sector. Semi-structured surveys were conducted from September to December 2018 among 45 vendors in the forage marketing chain. Nine forage species divided into five genera and four families were identified. The study showed that these plants come from the non-agglomerated areas of the city, fallows and old plantations. The main species are fforage Moraceae, especially Ficus exasperata, highly sought after by customers. The average selling price of a forage species boot is around 100 to 150 FCFA. The estimated average daily financial income per player is FCFA 750 and varies between 18,750 to FCFA 37,500 per month for a monthly average of FCFA 26,125 and oscillate between 225,000 to FCFA 450,000 for an annual average of 313,500 FCFA. However, although the harvesting and sale of forage trees is a pathway generating substantial income, it is a source of degradation of plant formations already overexploited in Côte d'Ivoire.
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Introduction
In Côte d'Ivoire, the economy is essentially based on agriculture, which employs more than 2/3 of the active population, and contributes 34 percent of total GDP and export income for 66 percent [1].
Livestock farming, which for along time remained the poor relation of Ivorian agriculture, is enjoying renewed interest. Despite the difficulties encountered, the animal resources sector contributes about 4.5 percent to agricultural GDP and 2 percent of total GDP, and employs around 360,000 people [2]. Livestock farming is practiced throughout the Ivorian territory and plays an important role in the national economy.
Today, the coverage rate of national meat and offal requirements is 26.69 percent and will increase to 61.62 percent, a challenge that remains to be achieved for Côte d'Ivoire by 2020 [1]. In this perspective, in many Ivorian cities, there is no less important livestock markets, where urban and traditional livestock farming activities, whether for-profit or not, are carried out by the population [3].
Activities in these livestock markets make an essential contribution to the domestic economy of cities [4-5]. Also, the feeding of domestic ruminants remains a challenge to be mainly forage spontaneous plants from the islets of natural formations and fallow land in the peripheral areas of cities in the tropical regions of Africa [6].
According to [7], the grazing of spontaneous species from these natural formations is generally the only way to feed cattle, sheep and goats in urban areas. Indeed, in these African cities, and in particular in Daloa, for livestock feed requirements, livestock owners are resorting more and more to forage crops. They are collected very often in areas not yet agglomerated in the city, fallows or lowlands and sold on livestock markets of small ruminants. The main issue is the financial profitability of commercial forage activity in urban Daloa.
This study is a contribution to the collection of useful information on the collection and sale of forage crops in Daloa livestock markets. The general target of this study is to identify the forage species marketed on the Daloa cattle markets and to estimate the financial profitability of this activity in the socio-economic life of the actors of the sector. Specifically, this will involve: (1) investigating forage plants marketed in livestock markets in the City of Daloa; (2) identifying forage species sold; (3) knowing their areas of provenance and (4) estimating the financial profitability of this activity of collection and sale of forage plants in the socio-economic life of the actors of the sector.
Conclusion
This work made it possible to know the forage sector, its actors involved in the marketing chain of ligneous fodder and the income derived from this sector. The forage species sold on the three (3) livestock markets in Daloa city are trees and shrubs that belong mainly to the Moraceae families with five (5) species, either 55.56 percent. The supply of forage plants from the markets comes from the non-agglomerated areas of the city, fallows, islands of natural formations and old plantations especially on the Gonaté-Daloa axis. The commercialization of ligneous forage in the city is an economic activity which generates a significant profit for the actors of the sector and thus of the economic spinoff per bundle of forage species sold varying on average 750 F CFA per day, either a monthly average of 26 125 F CFA. But, it is important to note that, although the harvesting and sale of woody forage plants generates substantial income, it is a source of degradation of natural formations already overexploited.