The Guinean government has promoted the large-scale production of industrial crops such as oil palm and rubber through the Guinean Oil Palm and Rubber Company (SOGUIPAH). Smallholder-based production of these crops has also been promoted to boost rural development but the food security outcomes are unclear. This exploratory study assesses the food security outcomes of smallholder-based oil palm and rubber production at the household level using six standardized metrics of food security. We compare households involved in industrial crop production and households that only grow food crops under subsistence conditions through statistical tools such as Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Endogenous Treatment Effect Regression (ETER). Overall, results suggest that oil palm and rubber smallholders perform better than subsistence farmers on metrics that capture perceptions of hunger and coping behaviors but perform worse for food diversity metrics. We hypothesize that this discrepancy can possibly be explained by the strong sense of security that steady income provides across time, which outweighs the shortcomings of diet diversity. The results of this exploratory study can inform the development of more detailed assessments of the food security outcomes of interventions implemented by SOGUIPAH in the area (and the mechanism through which these impacts emerge).

La problématique des huiles alimentaires consommées au Mali est une question qui préoccupe les autorités. Après la fermeture de l’Usine d’Huilerie Cotonnière du Mali (HUICOMA), une centaine d’opérateurs économiques s’était implantée dans ce créneau. Aujourd’hui, le marché est inondé d’huile de coton de mauvaise qualité. Cette étude a été menée dans le but d'apprécier la qualité de l'huile raffinée produite par douze unités de production d’huile de graines de coton. L’objectif était d’analyser des paramètres physicochimiques de l’huile de coton raffinée produite par les petites unités de production de la zone CMDT au Mali. Apres échantillonnage et analyse des paramètres selon les normes du Codex Alimentarius. Les résultats suivants ont été obtenu : indice de réfraction 100% non-conforme ; densité: 100% conforme ; l’indice de peroxyde : 36,67% conforme ; Indice d’acide : 85% conforme ; teneurs en savon: 100% conforme ; indice d’iode 37,10 à 48,50 g d’I2/100g ; indice de saponification 85% non-conforme ; les matières insaponifiables 100% conforme ; traces de gossypol, 75% non conforme. Ces résultats ont montré que certaines huiles étaient préjudiciables pour la santé des consommateurs. Des investigations, notamment au niveau des chaînes technologiques d’extraction et de conditionnement des huiles dans ces unités seraient nécessaire. The issue of edible oils consumed in Mali is a matter of concern to the authorities. After the closure of the cotton oil mill in Mali (HUICOMA), a hundred economic operators had established themselves in this niche. Today the market is flooded with poor quality cottonseed oil. This study was conducted in order to assess the quality of the refined oil produced by twelve cottonseed oil production units. The objective was to analyze the physicochemical parameters of refined cottonseed oil produced by small production units. After sampling and analysis of the parameters according to Codex Alimentarius standards, the following results were obtained: refractive index 100% non-compliant; density: 100% compliant; the peroxide index: 36.67% compliant; Acid number: 85% compliant; soap content: 100% compliant; iodine number 37.10 to 48.50 g of I2/100g; saponification index 85% non-compliant; unsaponifiable matter 100% compliant; traces of gossypol, 75% non-compliant. These results showed that certain oils were detrimental to the health of consumers. Investigations, particularly at the level of technological chains for the extraction and packaging of oils in these units would be necessary.

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