Market gardening and the Economy of Urban and Peri-urban Households in the city of Dakar: Case of the Municipalities of Hann-Bel-Air, Parcelles Assainies, Ouakam and Grand-Yoff

Abstract

The strong urbanization of the Dakar region and its induced effects (lack of cultivation areas, floods, etc.) pose significant challenges in terms of local food security for populations. In this context, the reflection on the food and/or commercial function of the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) of Dakar finds all its relevance. This study focused on the issue of access to production land and the essentially commercial dimension of market gardening, making it possible to generate income likely to improve the living conditions of agri-urban households. She is interested in this particular aspect of the market gardening activity practiced in the Dakar region in four market gardening production areas (Ouakam, Parcelles Assainies, Grand-Yoff and Hann-Bel-Air) involving 120 market gardening actors. The results obtained reveal that market gardening, by table crops, raises the question of local development based on gender. Worn mainly by women, it is a commercial activity in its own right, the monetary income of which is far greater than the minimum wage in Senegal. It turns out that this almost exclusively commercial orientation indisputably allows women to better cover their food and non-food expenses inherent to life in an urban environment. However, market gardeners face problems such as the current health crisis (COVID-19), lack of water, land pressure, proliferation of pests and lack of training on cultivation techniques. Therefore, it is urgent, on the part of the competent authorities and technical and financial partners, to meet these challenges in order to strengthen the means of resilience or adaptation of agri-urban households to food and nutritional insecurity.