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

led to a more sustainable agriculture in this cotton producing region.” The reason is that the
reforms stimulated cotton production and fertilizer use, which in turn contributed to greater plant
cover and lower erosion.
Igue (1996) describes the policies and results associated with the structural adjustment programs.
He points out that the programs have had significant success in restoring fiscal balance, reducing
external deficits, relaunching the financial sector, and stimulating economic growth. But he argues
that the cotton boom has displaced food production, leading to food deficits and food insecurity.
Furthermore, he sees a trend in which farmers and traders attempt to restrict trade to protect
themselves from the adverse effects of liberalized agricultural markets.
Gender UNDP (1998) assembles information from various sources to evaluate the status
and contribution of women in Benin. The report analyzes gender differences in school attendance,
formal sector employment, life span, and economic activities. It also highlights the role of women
in commercial activities, small and micro-enterprises, and household production, arguing that the
economic contribution of women is undercounted by standard measures such as value added. The
report also cites the ELAM to show that, in urban areas, female-headed households are poorer than
male-headed households (no results are provided on rural patterns).
Other Von der Luhe (1991) examines the relationship between farmers and extension
agents in the department of Atlantique based on interviews carried out in 1988 and 1989. Although
based on the Training and Visit System, the extension system was “a complete failure” in meeting
its formal goals of regular meetings and technology transfer. Von der Luhe argues that the farmers
believed that agents had little useful information to offer and sought contact with agents only in the
hopes of obtaining free inputs, access to credit, or some other subsidized service offered by
CARDER. Extension agents were motivated to contact farmers to impress superiors with “contact
groups” and demonstration plots, to sell their services, and to obtain “rewards” from farmers by
delivering subsidized inputs or services. Thus, the interaction between farmer and agent had
become a “business relationship” of bartering goods and services, with the actual transfer of
technology playing little or no role.
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