Economic benefit to gardeners and retailers from cultivating and marketing vegetables in Niamey, Niger

Abstract

Little is known about the effects of season and marketplace on the return obtained by urban gardeners and retailers in West African cities from the cultivation and sale of amaranth, cabbage, lettuce and tomato. To fill this knowledge gap, measurements of yields and weekly price interviews were conducted in Niamey, Niger, during the rainy season (August October) and the cool dry season (November January) of 2007-08. Using gross margin (GM) analysis, net profits (NP) and returns (R) on investments were calculated. During the rainy season, farm-gate prices of tomato averaged 660 FCFA kg(-1) fresh matter, compared with 450 FCFA kg(-1) fresh matter (p < 0.05) in the cool dry season, while prices of amaranth, lettuce and cabbage were more stable across seasons (100 FCFA = 0.15 Euro). The estimated GM (FCFA per hectare and season) and R (FCFA per FCFA invested) were 5.83m (R = 12.78) for amaranth, 10.09m (R = 18.98) for cabbage, 5.90m (R = 12.21) for lettuce and 6.40m (R = 16.58) for tomato during the cool dry season, compared with 4.71m (R = 8.44, amaranth), 9.50m (R = 13.48, cabbage), 6.52m (R = 7.08, lettuce) and 15.17m (R = 23.46, tomato) in the rainy season. Inputs in terms of labour, fertilizers and seeds strongly affected returns. Cabbage and tomato market prices (per kg FM) averaged 804 FCFA and 832 FCFA in the rainy season, compared with 410 FCFA (p < 0.05) and 574 FCFA (p < 0.05) in the cool dry season. For amaranth and lettuce, the NP of market retailers depended only on marketplace, whereas the NP of cabbage and tomato strongly depended on season and marketplace. Reducing mineral fertilizer use would lower production costs and thus increase gardeners' profits; at the same time, it would reduce environmental hazards ensuing from urban vegetable production in Niamey.