Privatisation et stratégies de résilience dans les exploitations villageoises de palmier à huile en Basse Côte d'Ivoire

The privatization of Palmindustrie marks a notable retreat of the intervention of the
lvorian government and a stop of its voluntarist policy in promoting the adoption of
the selected palm tree in family exploitations. ln this new environment of
production, the smallholders did not forsake the cultivation of the palm tree. They
rather proceeded to a modification of their technical and social routes of production.
The present study tries to point out and analyze the resilience strategies they deploye
to this end as weH as various social logics which support these changes. It thus could
highlight that palm tree smallholders resort to non-selected seeds, less expensive .
than thè selected vegetable material, or use in a random and marginal way manure,
to reduce their factor costs. The concession of a temporary right of use. of pieces of
palm tree fields for their plantation into food by other actors proceeds of this same
logic.
To limit and share the important risks and uncertainties linked to the cultivation of
palm tree because of absence of the support of the government, they contract the
exploitation oftheir orchards with other actors and/or are devoted to mixed-farming.
In a more total way, palm tree planters initiale practices structuring a strategy of
reconversion of various rights and obligations. production factors. Thus, their land
capital is exchanged for labour force or economic capital emanating from farmers
without ground. Even the plantation, in a recurring way, is completely or partially
eut down before the term of its productive cycle. Sold to alcohol producers, it
procures to the planters an important incarne which is almost re-used to create a new
plantation or to support other social expenditures.'