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

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policies of SONAPRA to discourage “leakage” of fertilizer to non-cotton fields.<br />

Alternatively, some cotton farmers may only be applying their “excess” fertilizer to maize,<br />

lowering the average below that of non-cotton farmers who overcome obstacles to fertilize<br />

maize.<br />

<br />

Bottom-land plots (bas-fond), which are generally marshy, receive higher applications of<br />

fertilizer, though irrigated ones do not, other things equal.<br />

Fertilizer purchase patterns The IFPRI-LARES Small Farmer Survey also collected<br />

information on the characteristics of fertilizer purchases. Nationally, 88 percent of the fertilizer<br />

used by farm households is obtained through the official SONAPRA distribution channel, another 8<br />

percent is distributed by CARDER, and just 6 percent is obtained from farmers and traders 9 . About<br />

86 percent is purchased on credit, and of these transactions, almost all the credit (93 percent) is<br />

provided by the USPP through the groupements villageois (GVs) (see Table 4.1.61).<br />

These averages hide dramatic regional differences in purchase patterns, however. <strong>In</strong> Atacora,<br />

Borgou, and Zou, over 90 percent of the fertilizer is obtained from SONAPRA through a GV, 89-<br />

98 percent is purchased on credit, and the credit is provided by the USPP through the GV in over 90<br />

percent of the cases. At the other extreme, farmers in Atlantique and Ouémé obtain almost all their<br />

fertilizer (89-92 percent) from CARDER, and they almost always pay cash. <strong>Farmers</strong> in Mono are<br />

in an intermediate position because, as a marginal cotton producer, Mono has some access to<br />

fertilizer through the official SONAPRA channel (see Table 4.1.61).<br />

The patterns in fertilizer purchases is fairly similar between male- and female-headed households.<br />

<strong>In</strong> fact, female-headed households are somewhat more likely to be able to buy fertilizer on credit<br />

from the GV than male-headed households (see Table 4.1.62). This is related to the fact that the<br />

percentage of cotton growers is somewhat higher among female-headed households (40 percent)<br />

than among male-headed households (35 percent).<br />

Similarly, the patterns of fertilizer purchases do not vary markedly between poorer and richer farm<br />

households. The percentage of farmers getting fertilizer from the official SONAPRA channel and<br />

the percentage buying on credit is around 90 percent in the first three or four expenditure<br />

categories, but drops to 79 percent in the highest expenditure category (see Table 4.1.63).<br />

9<br />

It should be noted that some of the fertilizer purchased from farmers and traders may have originally<br />

been distributed through the official Sonapra channel and then resold.<br />

59

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