Déterminants socio-économiques de l’adoption des pratiques culturales de gestion de la fertilité des sols utilisées dans la commune de Ouaké au Nord- Ouest du Bénin

This paper explores farmers' willingness to be (better) informed about reaction options to climate change and to pay for agricultural extension as related to modes of adaptation to climate change. Following a contingent valuation approach, the study was conducted through a survey on 336 producers farmers in northern Benin (West Africa). The results show that farmers were very willing to be informed about both climate change (predictions) and documented adaptation (strategies). However, they are willing to pay more for documented climate change adaptation strategies than for climate change predictions. The Heckman probit and seemingly unrelated regression models highlighted that age, gender, level of education, experience in agriculture, access to credit, organization membership, contact with extension, perception of and adaptation to climate change, and farm size have differential effects on farmers' behaviours towards agricultural extension services related to climate change.

The aim of this article was to analyse possible relationships between observed climate change adaptations as developed by farmers and the sustainability level of their production systems. The sustainability levels were measured through a participatory indicators-based approach. A tri-variate Tobit regression model including the observed climate change adaptations as explanatory variables was specified to analyse the main drivers of the measured sustainability levels. Data collection was conducted by survey methods on 336 maize producers randomly sampled and interviewed based on a questionnaire in North Benin. The results highlighted that farmers’ socio-economic characteristics such as contact with extension services, organization membership, access to credit, farm size and observed climate change adaptations such as on-farm diversification, land use changes and other adaptations were found to be the major driving forces underlying the sustainability level of maize farming systems. Among the observed climate change adaptations, on-farm diversification and land use change strategies were found to be sustainable options, whereas other adaptations such as change of activity (e.g. on-farm to off-farm activity), migration to another agro-ecological zone, prayers and access to credit appeared to be unsustainable options.

Cassava production in Africa is constrained by number of biotic factors, including cassava mosaic disease (CMD). In response to this challenge, the PlantVillage Nuru application, which employs artificial intelligence for CMD diagnosis, provides farmers with the ability to independently detect the disease. This study examines the factors influencing the adoption of the innovative Nuru application by farmers in Benin. Data were randomly collected from 305 farmers in three Agricultural Development Poles (PDAs 5, 6 and 7). A binary logit model was used to analyze the determinants of adoption. The results show that, despite the potential of the Nuru application, the adoption rate remained relatively low at 14.1%. The key drivers of adoption were found to be participation in CMD training, disease knowledge, ownership of an Android smartphone, education level and practice of crop association. These findings emphasize the necessity of intensifying farmers’ training and raising awareness about CMD. Effective strategies to reach and train a significant number of farmers are crucial. Enhancing Nuru adoption can lead to more effective CMD management and improved cassava production, which will have a positive impact on food security in Africa and strengthen the resilience of farming communities against biotic challenges.

En Afrique subsaharienne, le développement durable est menacé par le changement climatique par ces effets néfastes sur l'environnement, la sécurité alimentaire, la santé, etc. en effet, les producteurs du Nord-Bénin sont de plus en plus confrontés au besoin d’adapter leurs systèmes de cultures aux circonstances changeantes du climat. Cette étude analyse la décision d’adaptation des producteurs et leur perception du changement climatique. Les données sont collectées auprès de 262 producteurs de maïs échantillonnés de façon aléatoire dans trois zones agro écologiques du nord Bénin à travers une enquête socioéconomique. Le modèle Probit de Heckman est estimé pour identifier les facteurs déterminants la perception et l’adaptation des producteurs aux variabilités climatiques. Cette étude montre que les producteurs s’adaptent au changement climatique à condition qu’ils le perçoivent à travers des précipitations, de la température, du vent et de la disparition dans le paysage agroécologique. En réponse à ces changements, les stratégies adoptées sont entre autres : modification des dates de semis (91,4%) ; diversification des cultures (88%) ; autres adaptations comme les prières et rituels traditionnels (70%) ; stratégies de fertilisation dont la microdose (63,8%) ; adoption d’une nouvelle variété (43,5%) ; abandon ou diminution des spéculations (34,7%). Le modèle utilisé révèle que les producteurs s’adaptent au changement climatique à condition qu’ils le perçoivent. Le nombre d’actifs agricoles et l’association maïs-légumineuse influencent la perception du producteur tandis que le niveau d’éducation primaire, le droit de propriété sur la terre et l’appartenance du producteur à une organisation ont des incidences sur la décision d’adaptation du producteur au changement climatique. Par conséquent, les politiques gouvernementales qui visent à promouvoir des stratégies d'adaptation au changement climatique doivent tenir compte de ces facteurs pour améliorer les chances des mesures d’adoption des producteurs.