Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

estimates of the area planted to major crops in the village. Nonetheless, the results give an
indication of the general patterns of agricultural production and marketing in rural villages of
Bénin.
Production patterns
The area allocated to crops varies considerably from one region to another. In the North,
the most important crops are cotton, sorghum/millet, yams, and maize. It should be noted that the
share of the total allocated to cotton is certainly overestimated. Results from the IFPRI-LARES
Small Farm Survey suggest that cotton area accounts for 39 percent of the cultivated area in Borgou
and 13 percent in Atacora. In the Center, the main crops in terms of area are cotton and maize,
while in the South maize and manioc are the dominant crops. It is also worth noting that the total
area cultivated per village is largest in the North and smallest in the South (see Table 4.2.29).
The percentage of villages producing each crop illustrates the same regional distribution of crop
production. Although maize and beans are grown in almost all villages across the three regions,
most of the other crops show regional differences. Rice, sorghum/millet, yams, and cotton are
grown in a majority of villages in the North, but in very few of the villages in the South. In
contrast, manioc and tomatoes are produced in a larger share of villages in the South. Groundnut
production appears more widespread in the Center than in either the North or South (see Table
4.2.30).
Crop yields, as estimated by village leaders, also vary by region. The national average of maize
yield 27 is estimated at 1.09 tons/ha, very close to national maize yields estimated by CARDER.
Maize yields tend to be higher in the North, where cotton farmers are able to purchase fertilizer on
credit and “divert” some of it to maize plots. This pattern also mirrors official production statistics.
Manioc yields are estimated at 8.9 tons/ha, close to the figure estimated by CARDER. Village
leaders estimate yam yields to be 17 tons/ha on average, though this figure is considerably higher
than estimates from CARDER (about 10 tons/ha). The average of the cotton-yield estimates is 0.95
tons/ha, perhaps 10-20 percent below official estimates (see Table 4.2.31).
27
This is calculated as the simple average of the village-level estimates.
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