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

Land use
The average farm size is 3.3 hectares, with the largest farms in Borgou.
The average sown area per capita is 0.54 hectares, the highest average being in Zou.
Farm size is only weakly related to household well-being.
Land rental and land sales are not common, but land markets are more active in the south
than the north.
Ninety-six percent of the cultivated area is rainfed.
Time allocation
Women spend more time on household work (2.8 hours/day) and collecting wood and water
(2.2 hours/day), while men spend more time on agriculture and on leisure.
Rainy season activities focus on agriculture, while dry season activities concentrate on postharvest
and non-farm work.
Households report spending more time on agriculture than in 1992, particularly in the North.
Use agricultural inputs
Seeds
Over half of the farm households buy some of their seed requirements. Eighteen percent of
seed requirements are bought, more for vegetables and cowpeas.
Cotton farmers are no more likely to buy seed than other farmers.
Almost all seed purchases are on a cash basis. Little input credit is available.
Forty percent report that the availabilty of high-yielding seed has improved, while just 7
percent said it has gotten worse.
The use of purchased seed has increased markedly in the case of rice and to a lesser degree in
yams, sorghum/millet, and vegetables. But there is no trend toward increased use of
purchased maize seed.
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