Diagnostic agronomique des pratiques culturales paysannes dans les vergers caféiers de Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Résumé -En Côte d'Ivoire, la production de café a connu une baisse depuis les années 1980. Les économistes l'ont expliquée par la baisse du prix du café par rapport au cacao, qui a poussé les producteurs à négliger la caféiculture au profit de la cacaoculture puis de l'hévéaculture. Pour comprendre les mécanismes agronomiques de cette baisse et les pratiques agricoles des planteurs, une enquête sur la conduite des vergers caféiers a été menée dans les principales régions productrices. Cent cinquante-six parcelles ont été visitées et les données ont été collectées à deux niveaux : auprès des caféiculteurs et par observation dans les parcelles. Les résultats montrent que la superficie moyenne des plantations de caféiers est de l'ordre d'un hectare. Les deux tiers du verger sont constitués de matériel végétal non sélectionné. Ce verger est vieillissant et les densités de plantation moyennes sont inférieures à 1960 caféiers/ha, densité recommandée par la recherche. Plus de la moitié des vergers sont conduits sous ombrage composé principalement d'un mélange d'arbres forestiers et d'arbres fruitiers. L'entretien des plantations se limite en moyenne à deux désherbages manuels par an et la lutte contre les insectes à un seul traitement insecticide avant la récolte. Moins de 10 % des caféiculteurs apportent des fertilisants. Les techniques de conduite des caféiers par la taille et le recépage ne sont pas mises en oeuvre correctement. En conséquence, le verger est peu productif et le rendement moyen n'est que de 325 kg/ha/an. Ces pratiques très extensives et les vergers vieillissants reflètent l'intérêt limité des agriculteurs pour la caféiculture. Mots clés : diagnostic / pratiques paysannes / vergers caféiers / Côte d'IvoireAbstract -Agronomic diagnosis of farmers' cropping practices in coffee orchards in Ivory Coast.Coffee production in Ivory Coast is declining since 1980. Economists have explained this by the lowering price of coffee compared to cocoa, prompting producers to neglect coffee for cocoa and then rubber. To understand the agronomic mechanisms of this decline and coffee farmers cropping practices, a survey was conducted in the main producing regions. One hundred and fifty-six coffee plots were visited and data were collected at two levels: interviews with farmers and observations in coffee plots. The results showed that the average coffee plantation has an area of about one hectare. Two thirds of the orchard consist of unsorted plant material. The orchard is old and the average planting densities are lower than 1960 coffee trees/ha, the recommended density. More than one half of the coffee orchards have shade trees consisting of a mixture of primarily forest and fruit trees. The maintenance of coffee plantations is reduced to two manual weedings per year and phytosanitary treatments are limited to one single insecticide application just before harvest. Less than 10% of farmers provide fertilizers to the coffee trees. Pruning and rejuvenation systems are not properly implemented. Therefore, the orchard is no...

Mapping Coffee Tree Fertilizer Requirements in Côte d’Ivoire

“…The study reveals that the surveyed areas present a diversity of agro-pedoclimatic conditions. The conditions of different agronomic practices have been reported in recent works [6]. Varied soil conditions were also reported in 2019 [7].…”

“…By grouping soils with the same physico-chemical characteristics and the same nutrient requirements, the general tendency is to show, on the one hand, soils with a high base desaturation as opposed to soils with a low base desaturation and, on the other hand, soils with a low phosphorus content as opposed to soils with a relatively high phosphorus content. In the first or second case, this is explained by a lack of fertilization [6] which has led to a generalized depletion of the soil. Such findings have been documented under cultivation conditions in Ghana [21].…”

“…Nevertheless, despite the current situation, the coffee sector continues to generate nearly 1.5% of Côte d'Ivoire's export earnings [5], playing a key role in Côte d'Ivoire's economic and social stability. Although coffee farmers are aware of the reduction in available land and low productivity of their orchards, with good agricultural practices, including the use of fertilizers, remain almost nonexistent in Côte d'Ivoire [6]. And for the few farmers who practice fertilization, the formulas and doses used remain universal and not appropriate to the local situation [7].…”

Preliminary Typology of Agrobiological Farms in the Semi-Arid Region of Algeria

“…As for the second step, it involves the realization of the survey conducted from March 2020 until May 2021, with eighty certified and non-certified organic producers through a questionnaire (86 questions: quantitative and qualitative). Thus, in order to collect the necessary information, we identified a questioning pertaining both on the individual producer at the level of their farm and supplemented by direct observations (Eponon et al, 2017).…”

“…Moreover, we adopted the Turkish comparison method ). Subsequently, a classification to group the individuals (the surface) into classes was also performed (Eponon et al, 2017).…”