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

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If we focus our attention on the heads of household, the situation is only slightly more favorable.<br />

Twenty-seven percent are literate and the average amount of schooling is 2.1 years. <strong>On</strong>ce again,<br />

those in Ouémé and Mono have the highest levels of literacy and schooling. For example, 48<br />

percent of the heads of household in Ouémé are literate, as are 38 percent of those in Mono (see<br />

Table 4.1.6).<br />

Male-headed households are both more educated and more likely to be literate than female-headed<br />

households. For example, the literacy rate is 28 percent among male heads but just 6 percent<br />

among female heads.<br />

The schooling and literacy of the head of household are strongly correlated with per capita<br />

expenditure. For example, literacy is just 20 percent among the heads of households in the poorest<br />

expenditure category, but it rises to almost twice that figure (38 percent) among heads of<br />

households in the richest category (see Table 4.1.7). This is partly because literacy and education<br />

increase income-earning potential, but it is also due to the fact that both variables (education and<br />

income) are positively influenced by the income and education of one’s parents.<br />

Are education and literacy levels improving over time? The survey results suggest that the new<br />

generations are significantly more likely to be educated than the older ones. For example, 43<br />

percent of children between 6 and 10 years old are attending school and 46 percent of those<br />

between 11 and 15 are. This implies that rural children are often more educated than their parents<br />

and that the average levels of literacy and education will rise as these children become adults.<br />

Furthermore, the rates of attendance do not seem to vary between male- and female-headed<br />

households (see Table 4.1.8).<br />

<strong>On</strong> the other hand, educational disparities persist among school-aged children:<br />

<br />

School attendance is significantly higher in the south (Ouémé, Atlantique, and Mono) than in<br />

the north (Atacora and Borgou) (see Table 4.1.9)<br />

<br />

School attendance is markedly higher among higher-income households than among the poor<br />

(see Table 4.1.10).<br />

38

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