Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...
Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ... Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...
An important result of this analysis is that large farms, commercially-oriented farms 24 , and maleheaded farms were no more likely to report improved household well-being than small, subsistenceoriented, and female-headed farms. For example, even among households selling very little of their output (less than 25 percent), over half report improved well-being since 1992. At least in the case of Bénin, it does not appear to be true that market liberalization favors those farmers that are already oriented toward production for the market. 4.2: Results of the Bénin Community Survey 4.2.1 Introduction In order to complement the information obtained from the IFPRI-LARES Small Farmer Survey, the project also carried out a Community Survey, covering 98 rural communities in the Republic of Bénin. The questionnaire contained seven pages divided into six sections: Transportation infrastructure Agricultural markets Activities of groupements villageois and groupements feminins Credit for agriculture Extension services Agricultural production Each section contained questions designed to briefly describe the current situation, as well as questions to explore changes that have occurred in the village since the initiation of the economic reforms. We have adopted 1992 as the reference year “before” the reforms. The villages included in the sample are the same villages selected for the IFPRI-LARES Small Farmer Survey. The sample is a one-stage stratified random sample. In each department, a certain number of villages were selected randomly from a list of villages prepared for the Prerecensement Agricole. The number of villages selected in each department was proportional to the volume of agricultural production, subject to a lower limit of 10 villages per department. The respondent in each village was the village leader. 24 The market surplus variable is not significant at the 5 percent level, adopted in for this study, but it is significant at the 10 percent level. On the other hand, the coefficient is quite small. A 10 percentage point increase in marketed surplus would result in a 1 percentage point increase in the probability of reporting improved welfare. 105
The questionnaire was developed by IFPRI in mid-1999. It was then field-tested and revised extensively in collaboration with LARES in October 1999. Data collection was carried out from November 1999 to February 2000, under the supervision of LARES. Because of the relatively small number of observations, we do not provide results at the department level. Instead, some of the results are presented for three regions: North, Center, and South. The North is defined as the departments of Atacora and Borgou; the Center includes Zou; and the South covers Atlantique, Ouémé, and Mono. 4.2.2 Transportation infrastructure For the purposes of this report, transportation infrastructure is defined as the length and quality of the road network and the number and availability of various means of transportation. The quality of the transportation infrastructure affects the markets for all commodities but it is particularly important in agricultural markets for two reasons. First, agricultural commodities have a low value/bulk ratio, implying that the cost of transporting these goods is a relatively large proportion of the final consumer price. For example, the cost of transportation accounts for a much smaller portion of the price of soap, radios, or cloth than of maize or manioc. Second, seasonal variation in agricultural production creates an additional burden on transportation infrastructure during the harvest period. In Bénin, the cotton harvest reduces the availability of vehicles for other agricultural commodities. Road network Village leaders were asked about the length of different types of roads within their villages. The results indicate that the average village has 29 kilometers of roads, but most of this consists of pistes, unmaintained narrow dirt roads that are little more than paths. Just 6 kilometers (21 percent) of the total are all-season roads and just 1 kilometer is paved. The length of the roads is greatest in the north and least in the south, although these figures do not take into account the geographic size of the village. Villages tend to be larger in the more sparsely populated north. Dry-season and pistes become impassable an average of three months of the year (see Table 4.2.1). Respondents were also asked to assess the changes in road quantity and quality in their villages since 1992. A large majority (85 percent) reported that there had been no change in the length of 106
- Page 62 and 63: Ouémé presents an unusual case: j
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- Page 66 and 67: policies of SONAPRA to discourage
- Page 68 and 69: crops are responsible for this incr
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- Page 72 and 73: Female-headed households, not surpr
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- Page 88 and 89: Changes in crop marketing In this s
- Page 90 and 91: Poor households are more likely to
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- Page 96 and 97: a significant number of household (
- Page 98 and 99: non-food spending. These are follow
- Page 100 and 101: Larger farms are associated with hi
- Page 102 and 103: This would not be surprising in lig
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- Page 106 and 107: poorest expenditure category to jus
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- Page 110 and 111: Households in every expenditure cat
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- Page 116 and 117: questions posed by the IFPRI-LARES
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- Page 122 and 123: Marketing patterns Village leaders
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- Page 128 and 129: officers have CM2 certificates. Thi
- Page 130 and 131: Suppliers The GV representatives we
- Page 132 and 133: Cotton area per GV ranges from 145
- Page 134 and 135: The largest cost items are schools
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- Page 148 and 149: Table 4.1.31-Land tenure by expendi
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- Page 152 and 153: Table 4.1.42-Seed use by sex of hea
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- Page 156 and 157: Table 4.1.54-Share of producers of
- Page 158 and 159: Table 4.1.59-Fertilizer use by farm
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An important result of this analysis is that large farms, commercially-oriented farms 24 , and maleheaded<br />
farms were no more likely to report improved household well-being than small, subsistenceoriented,<br />
and female-headed farms. For example, even among households selling very little of their<br />
output (less than 25 percent), over half report improved well-being since 1992. At least in the case<br />
of Bénin, it does not appear to be true that market liberalization favors those farmers that are<br />
already oriented toward production for the market.<br />
4.2: Results of the Bénin Community Survey<br />
4.2.1 <strong>In</strong>troduction<br />
<strong>In</strong> order to complement the information obtained from the IFPRI-LARES Small Farmer Survey, the<br />
project also carried out a Community Survey, covering 98 rural communities in the Republic of<br />
Bénin. The questionnaire contained seven pages divided into six sections:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Transportation infrastructure<br />
<strong>Agricultural</strong> markets<br />
Activities of groupements villageois and groupements feminins<br />
Credit for agriculture<br />
Extension services<br />
<strong>Agricultural</strong> production<br />
Each section contained questions designed to briefly describe the current situation, as well as<br />
questions to explore changes that have occurred in the village since the initiation of the economic<br />
reforms. We have adopted 1992 as the reference year “before” the reforms.<br />
The villages included in the sample are the same villages selected for the IFPRI-LARES Small<br />
Farmer Survey. The sample is a one-stage stratified random sample. <strong>In</strong> each department, a certain<br />
number of villages were selected randomly from a list of villages prepared for the Prerecensement<br />
Agricole. The number of villages selected in each department was proportional to the volume of<br />
agricultural production, subject to a lower limit of 10 villages per department. The respondent in<br />
each village was the village leader.<br />
24<br />
The market surplus variable is not significant at the 5 percent level, adopted in for this study, but it is<br />
significant at the 10 percent level. <strong>On</strong> the other hand, the coefficient is quite small. A 10 percentage point<br />
increase in marketed surplus would result in a 1 percentage point increase in the probability of reporting<br />
improved welfare.<br />
105
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