Family Farming Systems and the Contribution of Fonio and Common Bean Production, Neglected Crops to Food Security and Household Resilience in the Amou Prefecture in Togo

Background: Family farming remains an important source of food and income for households in rural settings. Aim: To improve knowledge on family farming systems and the contribution of fonio and common bean production, the neglected crops, to household food security and resilience in the Amou prefecture in Togo. Setting: Semi-structured survey in eight villages in the Amou prefecture in Togo. Methods: 215 farming households were surveyed from October to November 2024. The food security level of households was measured using the "food consumption" and "dietary diversity" scores within the community. Data collected were analyzed using STATA15 software. Results: The results showed that the areas farmed by producers are small for fonio and common beans, less than 0.25 ha per household. Four Family farming systems have been categorized. 78.60% of households have an acceptable food consumption, thanks to the nutritional importance of fonio and common bean in the daily food consumption of the population in the area. Fonio and common bean are more consumed during the food shortage period within a year, providing resilience for 92% of the community. Conclusion: The study showed that fonio and common bean play a key role in food security and resilience of rural households in Amou Prefecture, even though the areas farmed are very small. Contribution: The study recommended to take into account fonio and common bean value chains in the national agrifood policies, as they have high nutritional and medicinal values that could contribute significantly to improving food and nutrition security and resilience.