Local Management in the Varietal Diversity of Rainfed Rice (Oryza glaberrima) from Goh-Djiboua and Mountains Districts in Côte d’Ivoire

The awareness of farming practices regarding the varietal diversity management of cultivated crops is essential for setting up an in-situ preservation strategy. The objective of the current work was to probe the varietal diversity status of the rainfed rice and its management design in farming conditions. The study was implemented from Goh-Djiboua and Mountain Districts as significant locations for rainfed rice production in Côte d’Ivoire, through descriptive investigation at field led from 450 local farmers of traditional rainfed rice varieties. Data on the anthropological, production, and post-harvest preservation of the traditional rice varieties were collected.

The investigation evidenced the rice production as a gender activity accounting 58.5% men against 41.5% women. The most produced traditional rice varieties are spelled Danané (20.22%) and Danané fowl (17.80%). The rice seeds mainly result from self-production by the farmers investigated (91.3%), especially deriving from traditional varieties (96.6%). The cultivated lands are below 1 ha acreage for most farmers (63.1%) and are worked for auto-consumption needs (99.8%). Besides the survey exhibited four storage structures, most significant of which are the granaries (79.4%). Further attempts focusing nutritional and technological advantages of the traditional rice varieties could enhance their spreading in local culture of rainfed rice.