d’Avila DOGNON¹, Agossou Damien Pacôme NOUMAVO^{1, 2,}, Sènan VODOUHE³, Lucile ADJOVI¹, Joseph BRAVO¹, Yanik Yaï AKIN⁴, Nicodème Worou Chabi⁵, Adolphe ADJANOHOUN⁶, Farid BABA-MOUSSA¹

Originally associated with the sociocultural groups of Central Benin, Tchakpalo, a traditional beninese beer, has gradually spread throughout the country. This study aimed to establish the socio-professional profile of vendors and to document the new production practices of Tchakpalo. Hence semi-structured survey combined with direct observations of Tchakpalo vendors were carried out in the five municipalities of Southern Benin. The study indicates that this trade is strongly dominated by women (97.52%), aged 35 to 54 (87.60%), mostly educated (64.46%) and married (75.21%). They have at least five years of experience (78.51%). However, some have been working in this field for over 15 years (30.58%) and some practise this activity exclusively (42.97%). Nevertheless, Tchakpalo trade allows them to contribute significantly to their families’ financial needs (100%). A large diversity of production practices has been registered through the study area. Thus, maize is the most used raw material in Tchakpalo production. Five technological variants of Tchakpalo production have been identified (DFM: Double-Fermented Maize; MFM: Mono-Fermented Maize; NFM: No-Fermented Maize; MFMS: Mono-Fermented Maize-Sorghum; NFMS: No-Fermented Maize-Sorghum). Each variant presented the same unit operations while the number, sequence, operating conditions, additives, and production equipment differ from a variant to another. The Mono-Fermented Maize (MFM) variant is the most commonly used by producers (37.70%). The results of this study provide a solid scientific database for projects to promote this beer, which is emblematic of Benin's food heritage.

maize, sorghum, gender, technological diagram, traditional processing, diversity