LE MAÏS ET LE NIEBE DANS LA SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE URBAINE DES SAVANES D'AFRIQUE CENTRALE

The savannah regions of Central Africa are undergoing numerous mutations based on high demographic rate, rapid urbanisation and cotton crisis, the main financial income of agricultural populations. This situation has favoured market emergence of consumable food, particularly maize and cowpea in the region, in association or in opposition with cotton. This situation raises up questions concerning: i) the impact of corn and cowpea emergence on food security in relation with increase of urbanisation, ii) the relation of this dynamic with financial income of producers and iii) the organisation of actors for the competitiveness of maize and cowpea. In this respect, a diagnosis of the channels of these grains has been undergone in Cameroon, Chad and Central Africa Republic. The diagnosis focused the production system (production constraints, storage, and commercialisation at farm level), the commercialisation system and product quality (national and regional fluxes, price construction and fluctuation, etc.), and the consumption system (at household level). The results obtained confirm the emergency of maize and cowpea in cotton production areas from the years 80s. This localised emergence may be related to the fact that producers benefit from technical and logistic support of cotton development structures to obtain fertilisers and pesticides which are used both on cotton and grains (maize and cowpea). But the maize and cowpea production systems face main constraints based on: a sprayed production system (0.5 – 2ha/actor), low technological production level (manual practices), low access to improved seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. As a consequence, the increase of maize and cowpea production is based on the increase of production areas, but with low productivity. In these conditions, the production system may not fulfil sustainable food security and financial income of producers. In addition, constraints related to storage, processing and commercialisation conditions have direct effects on the market quality of the grains. With respect to market potential, the urbanisation phenomenon offer offer a regional opportunity for maize in the central Africa area, while Nigeria market offer the same opportunity for cowpea. Action for improvement of maize and cowpea involves: action on intrants channel for the improvement of productivity and promotion of integrated regional food market.