Sociotechnical., Demographic, Material and Environmental Mapping of the Vegetable Production System in the City of Sahr, Chad: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Thanks to its multifunctionality, agriculture could constitute a strategic axis of sustainable development of the city of Sarh. However, this sector remains faced with several constraints hindering its activities. The main objective of this study is to contribute to a better knowledge of the practice of urban agriculture in the city of Sarh with a view to promoting and developing it. The study was conducted in the city of Sarh in Chad, from February to April 2025, a favorable period for market gardening. The study consisted of conducting surveys based on semi-structured interviews using a questionnaire, in order to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices of producers through the study. A total of 147 urban market gardeners in Sarh were surveyed. The results showed that 84.35% of vegetable farmers are men, compared to 15.65% women, with an average age of 33. With an area of approximately 122,640 m² devoted to market gardening, it appears that the majority of market gardeners surveyed (63.6%) work on an agricultural area of less than 500 m² in the sites surveyed. The most common means of access to land is inheritance, with more than half of market gardeners (51.02%) followed by occupation of public land, with 22.45% of producers surveyed. The study identified a total of 15 vegetable species divided into 13 genera and 8 botanical families at the three market gardening production sites, with a predominance of leafy vegetables, particularly lettuce, which accounts for 47% of total production at the three sites. Market gardening in the city of Sarh continues to face several constraints, including land insecurity, the low level of technical expertise among market gardeners, and difficulties in obtaining agricultural inputs. However, by seriously addressing this land issue and providing technical support to producers, it is possible to move this multifunctional form of agriculture toward a bright future.