Use of Raffias’ species (Raphia spp.) and its impact on socioeconomic characteristics of harvesters in Benin (West Africa)

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/07/2016
Views (308) Download (10)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Use of Raffias’ species (Raphia spp.) and its impact on socioeconomic characteristics of harvesters in Benin (West Africa)

Marcel T. Donou Hounsodé, Thierry Houéhanou, Achille E. Assogbadjo, Romain L. Glèlè Kakaï, Clément Agbangla
Int. J. Biomol. & Biomed.5( 1), 1-19, July 2016.
Certificate: IJBB 2016 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

Raffias’ species are used in handcrafts, constructions, food processing etc. But in Benin, any quantitative ethnobotanical study was not evaluated for their use and socioeconomic impact of uses on average income. This study investigated the importance of use of raffias’ species and the impact of socioeconomic characteristics of informants on the household income. Ethnobotany quantitative approach was used and data on use, products prices and the quantity sold were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered during an interview. The result showed that raffias’ species in Benin are used principally for craft (CI = 1.41 for R. hookeri and 1.68 for R. sudanica), but R. hookeri was most important for people in Guinean zone than those in soudanian and soudano-guinean zones. The frequently uses were the beds, mats, baskets and roofs. The most part of the plant used is the rachis for both species and the less used is the nut. Education level, gender and main activities were socioeconomic variable which influenced the annual income from exploitation of raffias species. The uneducated, men and farmers took more income from raffias’ species than others. Also, the development level of areas where the species are found, influence the income from their exploitations. To evaluate better the contribution of raffias’ species to regional and national gross product, it will be necessary to study the value chain of the main products, but also take into account the informant categories defined in this study regarding operators.

VIEWS 19

Adger W Neil, Katrina Brown, Raffaello Cervigni. 1995. Total economic value of forests in Mexico. Ambio 24, 286-296.

Adjanohoun, Édouard Joshua. 1989. Contribution aux études ethnobotaniques et floristiques en République Populaire du Bénin. Paris, France: Agence de coopération culturelle et technique.

Adomou AC, Sinsin B, van der Maesen LJG. 2006. Phytosociological and chorological approaches to phytogeography: a meso-scale study in Benin. Systematics and Geography of Plants 76, 155 – 178.

Aiyeloja AA, Oladele AT, Ezeugo EO. 2012. Evaluation of non timber forest products trade In Ihiala local government area, Anambra State, Nigeria. International Journal of Science & Nature 3, 366-372.

Aiyeloja AA, Oladele AT, Tumulo O. 2014. Potentials of Raphia hookeri Wine in Livelihood Sustenance among Rural and Urban Populations in Nigeria. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic and Management Engineering 8, 1-8.

Akoègninou A, Van Der Burg W, Van der Maesen L. 2006. Flore analytique du Bénin.

Alladatin Judicaël. 2013. L’exploitation du Raphia dans la forêt marécageuse Hlanzoun: entre contribution au développement socio-économique et dégradation des ressources naturelles. Études caribéennes 7, 29.

Anderson Patti J. 2004. The Social Context For Harvesting Iriartea deltoidea (Arecaceae). Economic Botany 58, 410-419. doi: 10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0410:TSCFHI]2.0.CO;2

Araújo FábioRibeiro, MariaAparecida Lopes. 2012. Diversity of use and local knowledge of palms (Arecaceae) in eastern Amazonia. Biodiversity and Conservation 21, 487-501. doi: 10.1007/s10531-011-0195-9

Assogbadjo, Achille Ephrem, Romain Glele, Akomian Fortune Azihou, Tina Kyndt and Jean Thimothee Claude Codjia. 2011. Ethnic differences in use value and use patterns of the threatened multipurpose scrambling shrub (Caesalpinia bonduc L.) in Benin. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5, 1549-1557.

Avocèvou-Ayisso Carolle, Avohou TH, Omorou M, Dessou G, Sinsin B. 2012. Ethnobotany of Pentadesma butyracea in Benin: A quantitative approach. 2012 10, 16. doi: 10.17348/era.10.0.151-166

Balslev Henrik, Tina R, Knudsen, Anja Byg, Mette Kronborg, Cesar Grandez. 2010. Traditional Knowledge, Use, and Management of Aphandra natalia (Arecaceae) in Amazonian Peru. Economic Botany 64: 55-67. doi: 10.1007/s12231-009-9105-4

Bennett BC, Hicklin JR. 1998. Uses of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, Arecaceae) in Florida. Economic Botany 52, 381-393. doi: 10.1007/bf02862068

Bernal Rodrigo, Claudia Torres, Néstor García, Carolina Isaza, Jaime Navarro, Martha Isabel Vallejo, Gloria Galeano, Henrik Balslev. 2011. Palm management in south america. The Botanical Review 77, 607-646.

Byg A, Balslev H. 2001. Diversity and use of palms in Zahamena, eastern Madagascar. Biodiversity and Conservation 10, 951-970. doi: 10.1023/a:10166 40713643

Byg Anja, Henrik Balslev. 2006. Palms in Indigenous and Settler Communities in Southeastern Ecuador: Farmers’ Perceptions and Cultivation Practices. Agroforestry Systems 67, 147-158. doi: 10.1007/s10457-005-1704-1

Byg Anja, Jaana  Vormisto,  Henrik  Balslev. 2006. Using the useful: characteristics of used palms in south-eastern Ecuador. Environment, Development and Sustainability 8, 495-506. doi: 10.1007/s10668-006-9051-6

Dagnelie P. 1998. Statistique théorique et appliquée. Inférence statistique à une et à deux dimensions, Vol Tome 2.

Dagnelie Pierre. 2006. Statistique théorique et appliquée: 2. Inférence statistique à 1 et 2 dimensions: De Boeck Supérieur.

Dan Céline, Brice Sinsin, Jean Lejoly. 2009. Exploitation de Raphia hookeri et d’autres PFNL dans la forêt marécageuse de Lokoli (Zogbodomey-Bénin). In Exploitation de Raphia hookeri et d’autres PFNL dans la forêt marécageuse de Lokoli (Zogbodomey-Bénin), Actes du 2 ème Colloque de l’UAC des Sciences, Cultures et Technologies, Sciences Agronomiques 376-405. Bénin.

Donou Hounsodé, Marcel T, Achille Assogbadjo E, Thierry Houéhanou, Romain Glèlè Kakaï L, Clément Agbangla. 2016. Facteurs socioéconomiques influençant l’usage des raphias au Bénin (Afrique de l’Ouest). Science de la vie, de la terre et agronomie 04, 2-17p.

Fandohan, Belarmain, Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo, Romain Glele Kakai, Tina Kyndt, Emmy De Caluwe, Jean Thimothee Claude Codjia, Brice Sinsin. 2010. Women’s Traditional Knowledge, Use Value, and the Contribution of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) to Rural Households’ Cash Income in Benin. Economic Botany 64, 248-259. doi: 10.1007/s12231-010-9123-2

Gouwakinnou Gerard, Anne Lykke, Achille Assogbadjo, Brice Sinsin. 2011. Local knowledge, pattern and diversity of use of Sclerocarya birrea. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 7, 8.

Gram S. 2001. Economic valuation of special forest products: an assessment of methodological shortcomings. Ecological Economics 36, 109-117. doi: 10.1016/s0921-8009(00)00213-5

Hegde Ravi, Suryaprakash S, Achoth L, Bawa KS. 1996. Extraction of non-timber forest products in the forests of Biligiri Rangan Hills, India. 1. Contribution to rural income. Economic Botany 50, 243-251.

Hoffman Bruce, Timothy Gallaher. 2007. Importance indices in ethnobotany. Ethnobotany Research and Applications 5, 201-218.

Insae. 2013. Quatrième recensement général de la population et de l’habitation: Résultats provisoires. Accessed Avril 2016.

Kar Shiba P, Michael G, Jacobson. 2012. NTFP income contribution to household economy and related socio-economic factors: Lessons from Bangladesh. Forest Policy and Economics 14, 136-142.

Ouedraogo L. 2010. Raphia sudanica. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 March 2014.

Paumgarten Fiona. 2005. The role of non-timber forest products as safety-nets: a review of evidence with a focus on South Africa. GeoJournal 64, 189-197.

Poché Richard M, Rajesh Garlapati, Dia-Eldin A, Elnaiem, Diana Perry, David Poché. 2012. The Role of Palmyra Palm Trees (Borassus flabellifer) and Sand Fly Distribution in Northeastern India. Journal of Vector Ecology 37, 148-153. doi: 10.1111/j.1948-7134.2012.00211.x

Sampaio Maurício Bonesso, Tamara Ticktin, Cristiana SimãoSeixas, FlavioAntonioMaës Santos. 2012. Effects of Socioeconomic Conditions on Multiple Uses of Swamp Forests in Central Brazil. Human Ecology 40, 821-831. doi: 10.1007/s10745-012-9519-y

Schroth G, da Mota MSS, Lopes R, de Freitas AF. 2004. Extractive use, management and in situ domestication of a weedy palm, Astrocaryum tucuma, in the central Amazon. Forest Ecology and Management 202, 161-179. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco. 2004.07.026

Tardio  Javier,  Manuel  Pardo-de-Santayana. 2008. Cultural importance indices: A comparative analysis based on the useful wild plants of southern Cantabria (northern Spain). Economic Botany 62, 24-39. doi: 10.1007/s12231-007-9004-5

Team R Core. 2013. A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.

Vodouhe FG, Coulibaly O, Greene C, Sinsin B. 2009. Estimating the local value of non-timber forest products to pendjari biosphere reserve dwellers in Benin. Economic Botany 63, 397 – 412.

White F. 1983. The vegetation of Africa: UNESCO, Paris.