Segnon Alcade C, Achigan-Dako Enoch G
Horticulture and Genetics Unit, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2014 Dec 23;10:80. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-10-80.
Agrobiodiversity is said to contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems and food security. However, how this is achieved especially in smallholder farming systems in arid and semi-arid areas is rarely documented. In this study, we explored two contrasting regions in Benin to investigate how agroecological and socioeconomic contexts shape the diversity and utilization of edible plants in these regions.
Data were collected through focus group discussions in 12 villages with four in Bassila (semi-arid Sudano-Guinean region) and eight in Boukoumbé (arid Sudanian region). Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 180 farmers (90 in each region). Species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were estimated based on presence-absence data obtained from the focus group discussions using species accumulation curves.
Our results indicated that 115 species belonging to 48 families and 92 genera were used to address food security. Overall, wild species represent 61% of edible plants collected (60% in the semi-arid area and 54% in the arid area). About 25% of wild edible plants were under domestication. Edible species richness and diversity in the semi-arid area were significantly higher than in the arid area. However, farmers in the arid area have developed advanced resource-conserving practices compared to their counterparts in the semi-arid area where slash-and-burn cultivation is still ongoing, resulting in natural resources degradation and loss of biodiversity. There is no significant difference between the two areas for cultivated species richness. The interplay of socio-cultural attributes and agroecological conditions explains the diversity of food plants selected by communities.
We conclude that if food security has to be addressed, the production and consumption policies must be re-oriented toward the recognition of the place of wild edible plants. For this to happen we suggest a number of policy and strategic decisions as well as research and development actions such as a thorough documentation of wild edible plants and their contribution to household diet, promotion of the ''bringing into cultivation" practices, strengthening of livestock-crop integration.
农业生物多样性被认为有助于农业系统的可持续性和粮食安全。然而，尤其是在干旱和半干旱地区的小农户农业系统中，这是如何实现的却鲜有文献记载。在本研究中，我们探索了贝宁的两个对比鲜明的地区，以调查农业生态和社会经济背景如何塑造这些地区食用植物的多样性和利用情况。
通过在12个村庄进行焦点小组讨论收集数据，其中4个村庄位于巴西拉（半干旱的苏丹-几内亚地区），8个村庄位于布昆贝（干旱的苏丹地区）。对180名农民（每个地区90名）进行了半结构化访谈。基于从焦点小组讨论中获得的存在-缺失数据，使用物种积累曲线估计物种丰富度和香农-维纳多样性指数。
我们的结果表明，48科92属的115种植物被用于保障粮食安全。总体而言，野生植物占所采集食用植物的61%（半干旱地区为60%，干旱地区为54%）。约25%的野生食用植物正在被驯化。半干旱地区的可食用物种丰富度和多样性显著高于干旱地区。然而，与半干旱地区仍在进行刀耕火种种植导致自然资源退化和生物多样性丧失的农民相比，干旱地区的农民已经发展出了先进的资源保护做法。两个地区的栽培物种丰富度没有显著差异。社会文化属性和农业生态条件的相互作用解释了社区选择的食用植物的多样性。
我们得出结论，如果要解决粮食安全问题，生产和消费政策必须重新定位，以承认野生食用植物的地位。为此，我们提出了一些政策和战略决策以及研发行动，例如对野生食用植物及其对家庭饮食的贡献进行全面记录，推广“引种栽培”做法，加强畜牧与作物整合。
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