Context
Benin is one of the world’s poorest countries. Particularly in the
agricultural sector, many people live below the poverty line
although they produce 80 per cent of Benin’s export goods.
There are several reasons for poverty among the agricultural
population. The sector largely consists of smallholder farms
with low productivity, and there is hardly any processing
industry. Seeds, feed, fertiliser and other production inputs are
difficult to procure. There is also a lack of widespread
agricultural advisory services, which are underfinanced and
poorly organised. The authorities responsible for agriculture
are not efficient enough.
Objective
In the long term, methods for expanding agricultural incomes
are mainstreamed among managers responsible for agricultural
advisory services in two regions.
Approach
The project promotes agricultural development in four areas:
1. Policy advice: It supports the Ministry of Agriculture in
implementing a national strategy for agricultural advisory
services and development.
2. Knowledge transfer: It works with governmental and nongovernmental institutions as well as companies to build
their capacity for sharing knowledge on digitalisation and
marketing with farms so that farmers can increase their
productivity and efficiency.
3. Value chains: The project helps farms organise themselves
in networks in order to modernise the cultivation,
processing and marketing of rice, soy and shea nuts. It
particularly supports women with new technologies and
knowledge so that they can grow more rice in future that is
also more resilient to the impacts of climate change,
including drought, heat and flooding.
4. Vocational education and training: The project builds pilot
projects that help improve curricula in agricultural
vocational education and training.
Last update: August 2023