The Socio-Economic Impact of Food Products Produced by Farmers in The Commune of Kouto (Northern Ivory Coast)

Abstract

Agriculture is the main income-generating activity of the rural populations of Kouto. The finances generated by the sale of crops contribute to improving the living and working conditions of producers. This reality is seen in the communal area of Kouto, a northern locality in Côte d’Ivoire. This study analyzes the socio-economic benefits of the marketing of producers' food products in the commune of Kouto. The methodology adopted for this work is based on literature review, observation and field survey. Primary data collection tools such as the questionnaire and the interview guide served as a road map to navigate the field of in-vestigation. The results reveal that 94.12% of producers are male, 80.39% are adults, 82.35% are unschooled and 5.88% of the workforce is foreign. Furthermore, this study showed that 54.58% of production is self-consumed compared to 45.42% which is marketed. Also, the marketing of food products is profitable for 14.81% of producers to send their children to school, 11.45% for the purchase and modernization of buildings, 17.51% for the maintenance of village pumps and mutual aid, 15.82% for the ac-quisition of manufactured goods, 8.42% for the wedding celebration, 14.48% for generation celebrations through the sacred wood, 6.73% for cyclical savings commonly called “tontines” and 10.77% for the organization of funerals in Senoufo country. Finally, the benefits of the commercialization of food production are a factor in the empowerment of producers' wives and the financing of future plots of the producers themselves in the commune of Kouto.