Reducing On-Farm Food Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
65
sticks) or oil. The quality of the seed can be verified by a germination test. Sown seeds have a
germination rate of 80-90%.
Peanuts should be grown on plot where they were not grown the previous year. The land is
cleared and crop residues are burned in heaps. Then a light tillage or ridging is practiced.
Peanuts also require a substantial amount of water. Therefore, producers plant after periods of
heavy rain with a spacing of 30-50 cm. The amount needed to plant one hectare depends on the
variety, quality seed and seed density, but usually 120-150kg in shell peanuts are used. It is
recommended that only one seed is sown per hole to a depth of 3-5 cm of soil.
All farmers hoed two times during peanut production. The first time occurred between 10-15
days after sowing to control weeds. The second time occurred at the time of flowering, and took
place before the output of gynophores. All producers use fertilizer at planting and only one
survey respondent used urea at the time of flowering. The application rates of fertilizer are often
not met. According to the peanut producers, pests encountered on the crop during production
are termites, pod-sucking bugs, and centipedes, as well as rots caused by Aspergillus spp. (on
seeds and seedlings), leaf spot, rust, root-knot nematodes and finally rodents. But according to
the producers, no phytosanitary treatment is applied during planting in peanuts in Benin.
Pesticides are not applied on peanuts in Azovè area and Benin in general.
Groundnuts are harvested by hand, by pulling up the plant. The plants are then dried via rapid,
steady drying of the pods to avoid aflatoxin contamination. Harvested plants should be staked
in the field for a few days to allow them to dry in the sun and air. Best practice would be to dry
plants outside the field to reduce risk of toxin contamination before stripping the pods, with
continued drying until the moisture content is reduced to 6-8%. This can normally be achieved
by drying the pods in the sun for 6-7 days, taking care to cover them if it rains. If pods are
exposed to the sun too long, both kernel quality and seed germination will be affected. This is
the key step for avoiding aflatoxin contamination in groundnut.
The cost of production of groundnuts is calculated using the unit costs of the various operations
of the six interviewed producers. The calculation is also done by quanti, which is the unit of
measurement in Benin. In Azovè, the quanti is around 400 m2. The operations performed by
producers in general are: purchase of seed, weeding, plowing, sowing, hoeing, NPK contribution,
harvesting and transport of the products from the field toward the house. It should also be noted
that the production cost also varies according to the period of abundance and peanut shortage
on the market, since producers procure seeds on the market. The calculation (Table 3.9) is made
for the period of abundance that is from March to May or June, because it is during this period
that the six producers grow peanuts.