PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF ORGANIC MARKET GARDENING IN THE COMMUNES OF GREATER OUAGA IN BURKINA FASO

In Burkina Faso, organic market gardening is struggling to become widespread, due to uncertainties about its capacity to effectively meet current challenges of food security and natural resource preservation. The benefits of this production model remain poorly understood. This study aimed to analyze producers' perceptions of the impacts of organic market gardening. To this end, a survey was conducted with 102 organic market gardeners and 20 stakeholders involved in promoting organic market gardening in particular, and organic agriculture in general. A mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, was carried out from May to December 2024 in the municipalities of Greater Ouagadougou. The analyses employed descriptive statistics, the chi-square test of independence, and content analysis. The results show that organic market gardening generates socio-economic and agronomic benefits. It is perceived as a means of economic empowerment for producers and improved socio-economic recognition for women. It also contributes to the development of market innovations, particularly direct sales and online sales. Furthermore, organic market gardening is perceived as: a means of increasing agricultural yields (68%), a source of improved income (71%), a means of income diversification (52%), a driver of health and quality of life, as well as a tool for strengthening human and social values. The economic empowerment of producers is determined by factors such as income growth (p < 0.0001), direct sales at the farm gate (p < 0.0001), crop preservation (p < 0.0001), cultivated area (p = 0.0005), gender (p = 0.0073), and experience (p = 0.0208). Given its socio-economic importance to producers, its promotion must be the subject of agricultural policies adapted to the needs of the stakeholders.