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Rural poverty in Benin

Benin has made progress in overcoming some of the most acute manifestations of poverty in the country, and is well on the way to achieving the Millennium Development Goals where access to safe water, food security and controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS are concerned. However, poverty remains widespread and persistent, and high levels of illiteracy and unemployment are a particularly worrying phenomenon.

A 2010 study showed that 33 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, and as much as 51 per cent survives on less than a dollar a day. Just over half the population of Benin lives in rural areas, where poverty is more widespread and more entrenched. In 2009, 35 per cent of the rural population was classified as poor, compared with 30 per cent of urban dwellers. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between rural and urban poverty is less pronounced than in other countries in the region, and recent statistics suggest that rural poverty is declining, while urban poverty is increasing.

Rural households still tend to hover around the threshold of poverty, despite the fact that the agriculture sector, excluding cotton, achieved nearly 4 per cent growth from 2007 to 2009.

In general, all the northern and north-western departments – Borgou, Alibori, Atacora and, to a lesser degree, Atlantique in the south and Collines in the centre – register higher levels of poverty and malnutrition. But pockets of poverty can also be found throughout the country. Overall low productivity also affects the northern and north-western parts of the country, while in the south the main challenges are climate change, population pressure, lack of secure access to land, degradation of soils, high food prices and limited access to basic social services.

Women are the poorest in monetary terms, because their access to means of production, including land, is not always secure. Women farmers have lower yields due to limiting agricultural practices and the small size of their plots. Illiteracy is still high – at about 73 per cent – among rural inhabitants over 15 years, and such high levels of illiteracy among young people suggest that future generations may face greater vulnerability. Many young rural people are leaving their villages to look for work elsewhere because they have no access to productive land.

Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of the country, providing 70 per cent of employment, and its growth is mostly stable. But Benin is still unable to meet its own food needs, and food security remains a challenge at both local and national levels. Despite a slight increase in national production, Benin still suffers a deficit in rice, meat, fish and vegetables – a deficit that has more than doubled over the last 10 years.

The rural population faces these main challenges: lack of technical support, environmental degradation of both soils and water sources, lack of infrastructure, and limited development of conservation and processing systems for agricultural products. The fisheries sector has slumped because unregulated fishing practices have degraded marine ecosystems. Access to markets, rural financial services and basic social services is limited and also contributes to rural poverty. Access to land poses a problem, especially in the south, where plot sizes average just 1.7 hectares per family, and non-agricultural activities are rare. The lack of a secure land tenure system is already generating tensions here.
 

Source: IFAD