The benefits of market gardening in a context of food insecurity in the commune of Djirataoua in Niger

Market gardening plays an important role in household food security and is an income-generating activity for market gardeners in the rural commune of Djirataoua. The objective of this study is to study the advantages of market gardening in the district of Djirtaoiua. To achieve this objective, the data collection method mainly involved individual surveys and focus groups on each of the six (6) sites, namely Djirataoua North, Djirataoua South, Kodrewa-Maradou, Radi-Adrewa, RPC (Rural Promotion Center) and Bakaoua. A total of 209 producers representing 5% of the producer workforce. Focus groups were held with the members of the cooperative. The data were processed by the Excel spreadsheet, IBM SPSS statistics 25 and Minitab 18 software for percentage calculations and subjected to the multivariate PCR and AFC statistical tests. The results show that thirteen (13) market gardening crops are grown in the district of Djirataoua. . The most widely grown crops are anise, red pepper, green pepper, onion and tomato. The least commonly grown crops are watermelon, sweet potato, carrot, potato and pepper. Thus, for phytosanitary treatment, chemicals are generally the most used. Thus, this activity has significant socio-economic impacts. The average annual income generated by this activity ranges from less than 200,000 CFA francs to more than 1,000,000 CFA francs. However, market gardeners encounter problems in the practice of this activity. To ensure the smooth running of this activity, solutions such as reducing the cost of the fee, support for agricultural inputs, technical support and the search for outlets for the products are proposed by market gardeners. There is no doubt that market gardening is an alternative to the chronic food insecurity problem experienced by the people of Djirataoua in particular and, in general, the problem of chronic food insecurity.