Importance and seasonality of vegetable consumption and marketing in Burkina Faso

The use of vegetables in two rural communities in Burkina Faso is quantified through the use of food diaries kept by 13 households during one year. Interviews on preferences, field registration, and a market survey supplement the diaries. The use of wild species is concentrated on Parkia biglobosa, Corchorus spp., Adansonia digitata, and Bombax costatum. At least five other wild species are mentioned (is important but very rarely occur in the diet, indicating the usefulness of diaries compared to interviews. Capsicum frutescens, Abelmoschus esculentus, Allium cepa, and Solanum lycopersicon are the most commonly used cultivated species. Wild vegetables constitute 35% and 59% of the total vegetable consumption in the two communities. Most products are highly seasonal in supply and prices vary accordingly. Households compensate for the seasonality by drying products, but stocks are often insufficient and vegetable purchases needed. Many of the vegetable species studied should be integrated in agricultural research and extension programs.