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

farm household and tends to be smaller. For example, in Bénin the average value of crop
production is 880 thousand FCFA/farm, while the average value of sales is 570 thousand
FCFA/farms. Thus, the aggregate market share is 65 percent. But if one calculates the market
share for each household and takes the average, the result (the average market share) is 50
percent 14 .
The share of total production that is sold (aggregate market share) is highest for cotton (100
percent), tomatoes (91 percent), and “other vegetables” (95 percent). At least two-thirds of the
output of groundnuts, manioc, okra, piment, and “other crops” are sold. For maize, rice, and
cowpeas, the proportion is 40-55 percent. The least marketed crops are sorghum/millet and yams,
with sales accounting for just 11 percent of production (see Table 4.1.109).
It may seem surprising that close to 80 percent of the manioc output is sold, but it should be
recalled that manioc yields 5-10 tons/ha and few households consume more than 1 ton/year. Thus,
even a one-hectare plot of manioc will generate a large surplus. In addition, the market surplus
ratio of large producers (who sell a large portion of their output) affects the average more than the
ratio of small producers.
The market surplus ratio differs markedly across regions. Given that the main cash crop, cotton, is
grown in the center and north, one might expect the market surplus share to be highest in those
regions. In fact, the aggregate market share is highest in Atlantique (82 percent) and lowest in
Atacora and Borgou (43 and 50 percent, respectively). This result can be explained as follows. In
Atlantique, the two most important crops are manioc and maize, and over two-thirds of each crop
are marketed. In addition, Atlantique has the highest marketed share for a number of crops: maize,
cowpeas, groundnuts, manioc, piment, and “other crops”. Presumably, this is due to the proximity
of large urban markets and the relatively dense road network that reduces the transaction costs
involved in marketing crops (see Table 4.1.110).
In Atacora, by contrast, the most important crops are yams and cotton. Although 100 percent of the
cotton is marketed, just 11 percent of the yams are. In Borgou, cotton, yams, maize, and
sorghum/millet dominate the value of crop production. Less than 10 percent of the yam and
14
This analysis uses estimates of the value of agricultural production based on the prices observed for
sales of the same commodity. Generally, department level average prices were used to impute the value of
production, but in some cases it was necessary to use national average prices.
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