CIRAD team leading the sustainable production component of the Safe Locally produced Vegetables for West Africa consumers (SAFEVEG) project conducted an analytical survey on vegetable production and postharvest systems in Benin. A total number of 428 farmers, which included 19.4% of women, were interviewed during the survey.

The study aimed to understand the major barriers and opportunities related to the production, storage, preservation and marketing of vegetables, assess farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of agroecological practices, and identify on-farm innovations to reduce the increased use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and limit post-harvest losses.

A feedback workshop was organized with various stakeholders in Benin to validate the emerging findings from the survey.

Pests and diseases, climate change, market price fluctuation, and the storage and conservation of vegetable crops were the four major constraints reported by farmers. For instance, one pepper farmer interviewed at Karimama in Northern Benin during the survey said: “it is very difficult for me to manage pest and disease problems in my round pepper (habanero) field. Thus, I applied every pesticide my fellows advised me to get satisfaction”. As such, farmers relied on hazardous pesticide utilization, especially in habanero pepper production, where farmers applied up to 48 times the pesticides during one production cycle ranging from 4 to 6 months. Although all farmers are aware of the negative impact of synthetic pesticides on human health, they keep using them because most lack alternative solutions. Fortunately, some farmers use repellent plants, crop rotation and intercropping as agroecological solutions. Some on-farm innovations, including clay application to improve soil texture and fertility in the North, and the use of fruit juices as biostimulants in the South, are good practices to promote. For illustration, one farmer at “Seme Podji” in southern Benin said, “As the accessibility and affordability of mineral fertilizers become more challenging in our country, I use mixed juices of pineapples, oranges and coconuts to prepare my biofertilizer, which helps me to increase my vegetable production.”

Hence, the project team agreed that (1) capacity development on the integrated management of pests and diseases affecting vegetable crops, (2) awareness raising on pesticide compositions and their targeted pests and (3) scaling of good agricultural practices would enable safe vegetable production in West Africa.