A peri-urban market-gardening territory in transition in Togo’s Djagblé floodplain: towards agro-ecological practices?

International audienceSub-Saharan Africa faces rampant urbanization, with an expected doubling in population between 2010 and 2030. Urbanization generates an increased demand for perishable food, particularly market gardening products. New markets for farmers on the outskirts are developing, while urbanization constrains their access to land. Producing intensively on small patches of land, market gardeners rely on large amounts of synthetic inputs, often used in inappropriate doses and conditions. This is harmful to producer and consumer health, but also for the environment. Such situation is exemplified by the Djagblé floodplain, located in a peri-urban area under humid tropical climate in Togo: along the Zio River and 20 km via asphalt road away from the capital Lomé. It has become a specialized production area for a short-cycle leafy vegetable consumed locally throughout the year: the jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius). We carried out a study to determine the feasibility of a transition towards agro-ecological practices. Interviews with 6 resource persons and 65 farmers in 4 villages enabled us to understand the factors leading to this specialization and the increasing use of synthetic inputs. The farmers' profiles also evolved: wives of urban workers with unsecured land status progressively become dominant over agricultural households. We characterize the complex functioning of cropping systems based on jute mallow, according to i) farmers' profile, ii) complementary areas cultivated during rainy season (Zogbé) and off-season after the river flood recession (Tokamé), and iii) association with other crops. The evaluation of land productivity in those systems sheds light on the farmers' technical choices. Participatory guarantee system and access to credit were identified as providing potential technical, economic, and social levers for agro-ecological transition, according to farmers' profiles and agricultural areas. It would benefit from the river's dynamic, the presence of Fula bovine herders, and growing urban demand towards quality products