Constraints related to the technical and socioeconomic aspects of adopting tomato varieties are well documented. However, preferences relating to the demand for this fruit are rarely studied. In fact, demand for the different varieties of tomatoes might be related to consumers’ preferences for the extrinsic (color, size) and intrinsic (taste, nutritive value, water content) characteristics specific to each variety. It is therefore indispensable to determine the characteristics of tomatoes preferred by consumers. We examine consumers’ preferences for tomato attributes among a sample of 600 consumers in four representative markets in the main cities in southern Benin. The study also identifies potential segments of consumers and the market shares of each profile for each segment. The study identifies four potential tomato market segments, two of which have a strong preference for local tomatoes, namely, those that can be conserved for long periods and those with a firm consistency.

The aim of this study is to identify the attributes of storage structures sought by maize producers based on a choice experiment. The experimental processes took place in the maize production areas of northern and central Benin. The sample consisted of 365 maize farmers (80.55% male and 19.45% female) randomly selected from 40 villages. Data were collected and analyzed using a latent class logit model to study the heterogeneous preferences of the key attributes of storage structures. The results show that men and women are eager to change their current practices and to adopt new storage technologies. The study identifies four potential producer segments, including three large-farmer segments that have access to credit and are particularly attracted to structures related to metal silos. Of those three segments, two are also attracted to improved traditional silos. Another segment of poor farmers, who do not have access to credit, prefer to have a very efficient structure (loss rate of less than 5%) that is designed with local materials. This study suggests that knowledge of the heterogeneity of preferences, as well as the preferred attributes, is important for the development and dissemination of better technologies by agribusiness firms, institutions and policymakers.

The loss rates and financial profitability of maize storage and conservation technologies were assessed in the central and northern regions of the Republic of Benin. The experimentations were conducted specifically in the villages of Boukoumbé and Savalou and were randomly sampled. A total of four storage technologies were offered to 137 producers: the polypropylene bag, the Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bag, the metal silo, and the improved and closed earthen attic (with or without stock processing). The method by Pantenius was used to determine the loss rates, and the economic method of Gittinger was used to evaluate the profitability of technologies. The results showed that the technologies that recorded fewer losses in the two communes during storage were the PICS bag with grain treatment by chemical conservation measures in Savalou (9.42 ± 4.64%) and Boukoumbé (2.69 ± 0.77%), the PICS bag without grain treatment in Savalou (11.71 ± 2.78%), the metal silo with grain treatment in Boukoumbé (4.92 ± 1.36%) and the polypropylene bag with grain treatment in Savalou (10.56 ± 2.80%) and Boukoumbé (4.02 ± 1.23%). Therefore, the financial analysis results indicated that the most profitable storage technologies were the PICS bag with treatment in the center of Benin and the polypropylene bag without treatment in northern Benin.

In this paper, we assess the impact of Nerica, a family of high-yielding hybrid rice varieties, on welfare in Benin. Our empirical analysis utilizes instrumental variable and quantile treatment effects methods to estimate the impacts of cultivating Nerica on welfare along the income distribution. We find that Nerica adoption increases households' expenditure across the entire distribution of income. The quantile treatment effects are statistically different from the average treatment effects, suggesting substantial heterogeneity in the impacts of the adoption of Nerica on welfare. We also find that, in absolute terms, the impact for farmers located in the upper half of the income distribution is the largest. However, farmers at the bottom of the income distribution also experienced large proportional increase in welfare. Altogether, our results suggest that the adoption of improved rice seeds reduces poverty and has the potential to contribute to the reduction of income inequality among farmers.