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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13388-13405
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Bioline Code: nd18039
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13388-13405
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CONSTRAINTS TO PRODUCTION AND PREFERRED TRAITS FOR TARO ( COLOCASIA ESCULENTA ) AND NEW COCOYAM ( XANTHOSOMA MAFAFFA ) IN TOGO, WEST AFRICA
Bammite, D; Matthews, PJ; Dagnon, DY; Agbogan, A; Odah, K; Dansi, A & Tozo, K
Abstract
Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) and tannia (new cocoyam) (Xanthosoma mafaffa
L. Schott) are food crops cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa
and Latin America. In cultivation, they are always vegetatively propagated and their
production faces many constraints. Their corm is an important source of carbohydrates
and leaves eaten as vegetable provide important minerals and vitamins. In Togo,
although these crops are among the most important food crops in some rural areas, they
appear at the country level as neglected and underutilized species (NUS) and should be
promoted. However, adequate information related to production, constraints, farmers’
preferred traits and utilisation is lacking for the development of efficient breeding
schemes and their sustainable preservation and use in Togo. In this paper, a focus group
survey was conducted in all five ecological zones of the country to document farmers’
perceptions regarding constraints for production of these two crops and their preferred
traits for production and utilization. Collected data were analysed through descriptive
statistics (frequencies, percentages and means) using the Statistical Package for Social
Scientists (SPSS 20) and Excel spreadsheets. Rainfall irregularity (or shortage of rainy
seasons) (68.4% of responses), soil infertility (61.5% of responses) and inefficient
marketing (58.7% of responses) were the most common production constraints reported.
Farmers preferred early-maturity (73% of responses) and high-yield (65% of responses)
as crop traits. Men are more involved in production of these crops in Togo (79% of
respondents). However, the constraints and preferences reported were not gender
dependent. This study showed that production of taro and tania faces many challenges in
Togo. Morphological and molecular characterization of grown varieties is highly
recommended to help select suitable varieties for breeding programmes. Improvements
in food processing and accessibility of credit should be prioritized to generate more
income for farmers and encourage production in Togo.
Keywords
Agriculture; Colocasia esculenta; constraints; farmers; preferences; production; Togo; Xanthosoma mafaffa
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