Agricultural Policy and Challenges to Reducing Food Insecurity and Poverty in Benin

Abstract

Although agriculture is the basis of Benin’s economy, the sector’s performance has remained relatively weak over the last thirty-five years. Between 2013 and 2015, total area cultivated was about 3 million ha of which only 0.4% is irrigated. Average fertilizer use is less than 15 kg per ha cultivated. A large majority of farmers are poorly equipped smallholders, who cultivate in average 0.5 ha in the south/center and 2 ha in the north of the country. This paper discussed agricultural policy in Benin since the colonial era until today, its effects on food security, the main economic paradigms behind it, and the prospects for policy-making to address food security and poverty reduction. It addressed the following questions: To what extent did agriculture help to promote development in Benin? What productivity gains did the successive agricultural policies implemented achieve, and how did they impact people’s food security and living conditions so far? What are the new prospects for the country’s agricultural policy to improve food security and reduce poverty among rural populations? The 25-year democratic period in Benin was marked largely by erratic and rent-seeking agricultural policy reforms. Progress achieved towards food security during the last three decades in Benin was significant on production but access to safe and nutritious food remained limited. The main reasons include: donor-dependency approach of governance, uncontrolled liberalism and rent seeking behavior of civil servants in various decision-making positions. The prospect for reducing food insecurity and poverty among rural communities in the decade 2015–25 lies in a healthy governance system, a renewed state support to farmers through more inclusive approaches and a dedicated promotion of private investments in the framework of the empowerment model.