The populations of Benin, a country in the West Africa, have incorporated vegetable products into their diets since several decades. To satisfy the growing demand and to cope with the various factors of crop losses, the country’s truck farmers resort to pesticides. The objective of this research is to make an inventory of the practices of pesticide use by truck farmers in Benin. For so doing, an interdisciplinary sociological reflection has been conducted. A methodological approach focusing on investigations (interviews, questionnaires and documentary review) was carried out nearby 245 truck farmers distributed throughout the whole national territory. The analysis of these different data allowed us to make several observations.Although market gardening is practiced throughout the national territory, a strong inconstancy appears in the production from year to year. The phytosanitary products based on Lambda Cyhalothrin, very numerous on the markets, are widely used by the truck farmers of Benin. The majorities of chemical pesticides identified are not permitted and are aggravating sources of risk factors for the use of chemicals. The lack of control over the distribution channels by the State favors this situation. Truck farmers often omit to protect themselves before the chemical pesticides use.The numerous sensitizations on the risks linked to these products have led to changes in behavior towards the self-consumption of organic production but the marketing of non-organic products.
Keywords: Agriculture, Benin, Vegetables, fruits, market gardening, pesticides
