Diapositive 1

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Sociocultural factors influencing the
availability and the consumption of food plants
in Togo
S. AKPAVI (1), K. BATAWILA (1), K. WALA (1), K.
KOSSI-TITRIKOU (2), K. AMOUZOU (3), K. KOKOU (1),
A. CHANGO (4), I. BUTARE (5), K. AKPAGANA (1)

• Laboratoire de Botanique et Ecologie Végétale
  Université de Lomé (Togo)
• Département dAnthropologie-sociologie,
  Université de Lomé (Togo)
• Laboratoire de Biochimie/Nutrition, Université de
  Lomé (Togo)
• Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais (France)
• CRDI, Bureau régional Afrique de lOuest (Dakar)

Underutilized plants. Arusha, 2008
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• PLAN
• INTRODUCTION
• METHODES
• RESULTATS DISCUSSION
• Diversity of threatened food plants in Togo
• Sociocultural factors as threats
• CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION
Leaves, flowers, tubers, roots, seeds, fruits,
grains, barks, etc.
Food, health, nutrition, clothing, energy, etc.
PHYTOGENETIC RESOURCES
Various pressures sociocultural, economic,
pedoclimatic, etc.)

• traditional varieties progressively neglected
  and given up (Aké Assi 1992 Kouadio 2003)
• taxa are facing extinction
• Erosion of agrobiodiversity (Geneflow 1996,
  Gadou 2003,)

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TOGO
Little is known about threatened food plants
Many indigenous varieties species are
underutilized, neglected, marginalized and in
disappearance
Minor, neglected or underutilized food plants no
documented or unknown
Causes insufficiently kwon
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OBJECTIVES

• Promote the production and / or utilization and
  conservation of indigenous food plants in Togo.
• Inventory the indigenous threatened food plants
  in Togo
• Determine the causes (sociocultural)

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Methods
Conceptual model
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Data collection
Stratified simpling with two levels Fisrt
level ecological zones
2nd level ethnic groups 38 ethnic groups
on 40 were surveyed
1 to 34 localities are randomly selected by
ethnical group according to the importance of the
distribution of the ethnical group on the
territory 280 localities are prospected and
recorded with the GPS
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Data collection

• Multidisciplinary group (botanistes,
  ethnobotanistes, sociologues, agronomes and
  nutritionnistes)
• Informations were gathered by ethno botanical
  studies Variety of participatory rural
  appraisal techniques combined with visual
  observations on farm, markets and livelihoud
  semi structural interviews with focus groups
  (average, 11 respondents) using a questionnaire.
  
• Required informations  concern
• Local names of all agricultural varieties which
  are nowdays little cultivated and/or little
  consumed or given up, global description of the
  variety (vegetative cycle, botanical description,
  agronomical description, organoleptic
  characteristics, etc.) 
• Local names of all spontaneous food plants whose
  population regress or are lessly consumed, their
  description, used parts, etc.
• Causes of under use (under consumption) and
  threats of species 

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Data treatment

• Informations collected were analyzed by species
• Descriptions of plants were combined and analyzed
  in order to define varieties for the cultivated
  species.
• This pre treatment made possible to draw up
• 1 list of cultivated species with their varieties
  
• 1 list of spontaneous species
• 1 list of sociocultural causes and involved
  species.

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RESULTS DISCUSSION
Diversity of threatened food plants in Togo

• The study revealed 2638 local names of threatened
  food plants in 38 local languages
• 2415 names of plants are combined and classified
  in 138 species.
• 51 cultivated plants species with one or more
  varieties
• 87 spontaneous plants species.

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Cultivated threatened food plants

• 51 species 141 varieties distinguished in
• 29 species with only one variety 
• 22 species with 2 to 18 varieties

• Graminae (7 especies with 27 local varieties 
• Papilionacaeae (7especies with 30 local
  varieties
• Dioscoreaceae (5 especies with 27 local
  varieties  
• Musaceae (5 especies with 1 local variety each
  other  
• Solanaceae (4 especies with 8 local varieties  
• Cucurbitaceae (3 especies with 9 local varieties
   
• Malvaceae (2 especies with 7 local varieties  
• Etc.

  Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Asteraceae,
Caricaceae, Cyperaceae, Labiae, Liliaceae,
Moringaceae, Myrtaceae, Palmae, Polygalaceae et
Tiliaceae.
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EXEMPLES OF CULTIVATED FOOD PLANTS IN
DISAPPEARANCE
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Spontaneous threatened food plants

• Moraceae (8 species),
• Rubiaceae (7 species),
• Anacardiaceae, Caesalpiniaceae and Tiliaceae (5
  species each other),
• Amaranthaceae, Annonaceae and Bombacaeae (3
  species each other)
• Etc..

  Acanthaceae, Araceae, Asclepiadaceae,
Boraginaceae, Capparaceae, Combretaceae,
Commelinaceae, Droseraceae, Euphorbiaceae,
Guttiferae, Graminae, Loganiaceae, Meliaceae,
Mimosaceae, Ochnaceae, Oleaceae, Opiliaceae,
Palmae, Papilionaceae, Pedaliaceae, Polygalaceae,
Portulacaceae, Sapotaceae, Simaroubaceae,
Taccaceae, Urticaceae, Zingiberaceae et
Zygophillaceae.
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EXEMPLES OF SPONTANEOUS FOOD PALNTS IN
DISAPPEARANCE
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ABUNDANCE OF THE PLANTS ACCORDING TO THE ETHNIACL
GROUPS
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IMPORTANCE OF SOCIOCULTURAL THREATS

• Availability and consumption of 37 food species
  are influenced by sociocultural factors such as.
  
• Changes in food habits (65) 
• Introduction of high yielding exotic varieties
  (63) 
• Social and family structure dislocation (47) 
• Social discriminations and disparities or gender
  concept (31) 
• incidence of the new religions (29)
• Traditional considerations (27)

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ETHNICAL GROUPS SOCIOCULTURAL THREATS
Moba, Ewe, Ouatchi, Kabyè, Gourmantché, Gangan
and Ifè Ethnic groups resulting from the poles
of high density of population (Gayibor, 1997)
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Incidence of the changes in food habits on food
plants

• Plants with limited food/culinary forms or
  receipts (Zea mays with multicoloured grains ,
  Sorghum bicolor, Dioscorea alata, D. bulbufera,
  D. dumentorum, Manihot esculenta with yellow
  tuber and/or bitter taste, etc.
• Plants with seeds or grains with very coloured
  coat, teguments (Phaseolus vulgaris, Vigna
  unguiculata, Sorghum bicolor, etc.
• Wild fruits (indifference of the young people)

1. Loss of the diets/recipes or their components
2. Some diets/recipes widely consumed on all the
territory

• kantong (Kabyè) mustard with the seeds of Ceiba
  pentandra
• gbambo (Kabyè) soup with the seeds of Ceiba
  pentandra
• ntumakpin (Kabyè) soup with the seeds of beans
  and dried leaves of Abelmoschus esculenta
• linul (konkomba) local couscous with the
  varieties of very small tubers of Dioscorea
  cayenensis-rotundata
• Traditional potash with the thatch of Sorghum
  Pennisetum)
• nkukunblagbin (Konkomba) soup with the seeds of
  the old variety of Gossypium sp.

• Sodabi (alcolized drink obtained by traditional
  distillation of the wine of Elaeis guineensis)
• Local beers (Tchakpa, Lossomicyne, Kablemicyne,
  Touk, (Sorghum), Dèguè, Foura (Pennisetum)

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Incidence of the social and family structures
dislocation on food plants
Disappearance of mutual aid groups Loss of
parental autority Loss of traditions (gifts)
Macrotyloma geocarpum Digitaria exilis
Dioscorea spp.
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Incidence of gender concept on food plants

• 1. Plants discriminating ethnic groups
• Digitaria exilis (Akposso, Nawda Lamba)
• Var kablete of D. cayenensis-rotundata and the
  precoce variety of Pennisetum glaucum (Kabyè)
• tardive Var of Pennisetum glaucum (Moba)
• Var tountouane of Vigna unguiculata, (Gangan)
• Polygala butyracea (koussourou in Kabyè) and
  (tounbim in Nawda)
• Etc.

Ethnics refuse to cultivate varieties of other
ethnics, especially if there are social frictions
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Incidence of gender concept

• 2. Plants discriminating sex age groups
• Solenostemon rotundifolius, Macrotyloma
  geocarpum qualified as crops of the old age
• Haematostaphis barteri, Var evekodu of Musa
  sapientum, etc. consumed only by children
• Etc.

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Incidence of gender concept on food plants

• 3. Plants discriminating socio-economic level of
  consumers
• Var Aparakou of Sorghum bicolor ( cultivated only
  by less affluent, as poor mans food, as famine
  food)
• mustard traditional potash (primitive women,
  poor families)
• Var laboko of D. cayenensis-rotundata (preferred
  by prestigious classes)
• Etc.

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Influence of other social factors

• Development of individualism, child schooling
  adoption of non-agricultural activities (var
  yletive of Zea mays Oryza sativa and var nyari
  of P. glaucum
• Traditional considerations in moba, tchokossi
  and konkomba zones, Cucurbita pepo (would
  decrease the effectiveness of the fight power,
  Cissus populnea Bombax costatum (would remove
  male virility), (in adja ifè zones) passage
  entre les jambes de var akpoka de Dioscorea alata
  would cause an incurable hernia , in moba zones
  Diospyros mespiliformis, Sclerocarya birrea,
  Mangifera indica, etc. would shelter malefic
  forces, etc.
• Abundonment of ceremonies and ritual var
  tountouane in Gangan zones (V. unguiculata),
  toufal Moba in zones (V. unguiculata) especially
  for funerary ceremonies, (V. unguiculata)
  protection of the widow or the widower against
  the late one, var ayixoxo in Ewe and Ouatchi
  zones (V. unguiculata), var evemolu with red
  grains of Oryza glaberrima, var variety with very
  small and frayed fruits of Capsicum frutescens in
  Ewe Ouatchi zones, etc.
• Loss of cultural and culnary techniques
  Digitaria exilis, Solenostemon rotundifolius,
  Macrotyloma geocarpum, etc.
• Etc.

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CONCLUSION
Threatened Food plants
Underutilized food plants
Food plants
Sociocultural factors changes in food habits,
development of individualism, good neighbor
relations degradation, social and family
structures dislocation, social discrimination on
the basis of consumed plants, social
considerations prohibiting plants consumption,
etc. The loss of the biodiversity, in the most
cases, result from the innumerable and
inappropriate decisions made daily by the men on
all the levels of the society. To promote and
conserve threatened food plants threatened in
Togo, appropriate measures involving researchers,
autorities and local communities are needed
because of the various roles of these species.
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TANK YOU FOR YOR ATTENTION