Pratique cacaoyère, délitement de l'accès au foncier et sécurité alimentaire dans la sous-préfecture de Dania (centre-ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire)

Cocoa Cultivation, Disintegration of Land Access and Food Security in the Sub-prefecture of Dania (Center-west of Côte d'Ivoire). The cocoa plantations are exponentially increasing and most of the rural households in the forest area of Ivory Coast are involved in it. In the sub-prefecture of Dania, 77.7% of the households have a cocoa exploitation. Currently, the cocoa plantations in the area of Dania are facing a production crisis which is amplified by the military political crisis of September 2002. The incomes of the producers of cocoa are decreasing. Because of the great impact of the cocoa production on farm land, the available area to fulfill the food needs becomes insufficient. Forty three percent of the households lack sufficient land to satisfy their food production. The minimum period of seven year of fallow being no longer respected soil fertility problems are created and consequently a decrease of the agricultural yields. Fifty seven percent of the households are facing food insecurity. Therefore, the households have elaborated new strategies for land appropriation, such as the borrowing of farm land (13 %), the increased use of the phytosanitary products (52%) and particularly the higher attraction for the exploitation of fallow land (40%)