Diversity, Geographical, and Consumption Patterns of Traditional Vegetables in Sociolinguistic Communities in Benin: Implications for Domestication and Utilization1

Abstract

Domestication and Utilization. Traditional vegetables in many African rural areas are an important part of the daily diet and economy but have been poorly documented until recently. We undertook a survey in Benin on the diversity and patterns of use of traditional vegetables by 18 sociolinguistic groups in the three major phytogeographical regions. Major groups include the Yoruba-Nagot, Fon, Bariba, Adja, Cotafon, and Ditammari. Focus groups and field visits were conducted in 49 villages. Species richness at the country level and in phytogeographical regions was estimated using species accumulation curves. Our results indicated that 245 species belonging to 62 families are used as vegetable resources all over the country. The most frequently used families include Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Leguminoseae. About 80% of collected vegetables are wild resources; only 19% were clearly under cultivation. Herbs were the most widely consumed life form. The Guinean and the Sudanian regions exhibit similar species richness while in the Sudano-Guinean region vegetable richness is higher. The use of a species as a vegetable depends not only on socio-cultural attributes but also on geographical occurrence. Based on this inventory, we identified needs for further research and activities for both the conservation and promotion of traditional vegetables.Diversité, Distribution Géographiques, et Mode de Consommation des Légumes Traditionnels dans les Groupes Sociolinguistiques du Bénin: Implications pour la Domestication et l'Utilisation des Ressources. Les légumes traditionnels représentent une part importante dans le régime alimentaire quotidien et l'économie des communautés rurales en Afrique. Cependant, ils ont été négligés par la recherche jusqu'à récemment. Au Bénin, nous avons entrepris un inventaire de la diversité et des types d'usage des légumes traditionnels au niveau de 18 groupes sociolinguistiques, dans les trois grandes zones phytogéographiques du pays. Les groupes linguistiques enquêtés comprennent les Yoruba-Nagot, Fon, Bariba, Adja, Cotafon, et Ditammari. Des entretiens de groupes et visites de terrain ont été organisés dans 49 villages. La richesse spécifique au niveau national et au niveau des zones phytogéographiques a été estimée par la méthode de courbes d'accumulation spécifique. Nos résultats indiquent que 245 espèces appartenant à 62 familles de plantes sont exploitées comme légumes au niveau national. Les familles fréquemment utilisées sont les Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Cucurbitaceae, et les Leguminoseae. Environ 80% des légumes collectés sont des ressources sauvages et seulement 19% sont clairement cultivés. Les herbacées représentent la majeur partie des légumes. Les zones Guinéenne et Soudanienne présentent des richesses spécifiques similaires, tandis que la richesse spécifique de légumes est supérieure dans la zone Soudano-Guinéenne. L'utilisation d'une espèce comme légume dépend 1

Farmer’s Knowledge and Perception of Diversified Farming Systems in Sub-Humid and Semi-Arid Areas in Benin

“…That is, knowledge related to which crops to combine with tree species, how to combine species in agroforestry system and knowledge related to management techniques, so as to reduce negative effects (e.g., shading effect, competition for resources, such as water, nutrients, rain and light, and allelopathy [45,46]), are better handled by farmers of the semi-arid area. In addition, farmers in the semi-arid area had more agroforestry species on their farms than those in the sub-humid Sudano-Guinean region, although floristic diversity is known to be higher in Sudano-Guinean region than the Sudanian one [28,47,48]. This is consistent with the findings by Assogbadjo et al [49] that traditional agroforestry systems in the Sudanian region of Benin are more diversified in terms of species richness than in the Sudano-Guinean region.…”

“…Our results also highlighted the impact of sociolinguistic membership in the valuation NTFPs species (of which many are agroforestry species) [37,40,[52][53][54]. However, not only cultural differences, but also environmental conditions, such as geographical contexts, might play a role in the use and the valuation of plant species by local communities [24,28,47]. The similarity exhibited between the Ditamari and M'Bermé may be explained by the fact that these two sociolinguistic groups have high linguistic and cultural affinities.…”

Complementary feeding practices: determinants of dietary diversity and meal frequency among children aged 6–23 months in Southern Benin

“…The cost of food access is higher in Houeyogbe than Bopa. Achigan- Dako et al (2011) found that the use of a species as a vegetable depended on sociocultural attributes in addition to geographical occurrence.…”

Dietary contribution of Wild Edible Plants to women’s diets in the buffer zone around the Lama forest, Benin – an underutilized potential

“…Up till now, several ethnobotanical studies in (Southern) Benin have documented a vast number of WEPs known by the local populations (Achigan-Dako et al 2010 andDansi et al 2008;N'Danikou 2009;N'Danikou et al 2011), but none has attempted to quantify their dietary contributions using thorough food intake assessment methods. The objective of this study is to assess the contribution of WEPs to women's diets in the buffer zone of the Lama forest in southern Benin, a plant biodiverse region diversity (Djego 2003;N'Danikou 2009).…”