The majority of pepper and other vegetable fields in most
West African countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Niger and Senegal) are located in rural areas and exploited mainly by male smallholder farmers (AVRDC, 2008). Women are the main marketers, processers, buyers, and users (Yaméogo et al., 2002). As for other vegetables, farm size ranges from one or more plots of a few squared meters to less than 1 ha (USAID/Guinea, 2006; AVRDC, 2008). The crop may be produced in single stands or intercropped with staple crops or other vegetables, sometimes even with other crops of the Solanaceae family. In urban and periurban settings, peppers and other vegetables are produced to provide nearby city dwellers with fresh produces and growers and marketers with cash income. Farm labor is provided mostly by family members in rural areas, and family members plus paid personnel in the urban and periurban settings. Seed supply is through the private sector, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) or farmers’ own saved seeds. The public/private sector partnership involving NARES and/or International Agricultural Research Institutions is very limited. Conventional production methods in open fields are commonly practiced. Although there is an (Dagnoko and Gniffke, unpublished). Another important quality requirement often neglected and none verified is the absence or low content of aflatoxin in the dried whole products and/or powder. Aflatoxin is a pathogenic compound that occurs in the fruits as a result of contamination by the fungus Aspergillus flavus Link. However, the extent of pepper contamination in most countries is poorly known and needs exploring for West African pepper products to be competitive in both local and external markets.