This research analyzes the economic effects of climate change-induced crop yield losses in Benin. As agriculture is a large sector in Benin, the climate change-induced crop yield losses are expected to affect the entire economy as well as household welfare in both rural and urban areas. The paper applies a dynamic general equilibrium model and simulates productivity shocks in the agricultural sector derived from climate change scenarios for Benin. The findings show that climate change-induced crop yield losses reduce domestic agricultural outputs by 4.4% and the nonagricultural output by 0.9% on average by 2025. While export supply decrease by 25.5%, import demand increases by 4.9% on average by 2025. As price of labour and capital decline, household income drop for all household groups by 2.5% on average. Ultimately, household welfare decline for all household groups by 2.7% on average. Rural and particularly poor households are projected to experience the worst adverse effects of climate change-induced crop yield losses. The results show that without adaptive strategies to cope with climate change, economic growth and household welfare will decline even further by 2035 and 2045. Subsequently, the paper suggests that adaptation strategies are needed not only at the national level to overcome the projected negative effects on macroeconomic indicators, but also at household level to enhance the adaptative capacity of households, especially the poor households living in rural areas.

Agriculture is the sector most vulnerable to climate risks, particularly in countries where 95% are rainfed. Adaptive strategies are crucial to improve agricultural productivity and secure farmers’ livelihoods. The availability of and access to climate information reinforce the classical adaptive measures adopted by farmers and provide them with opportunities to make informed decisions. This study used an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour to analyze the behavioural determinants of farmers’ intention to use climate information in decision-making. Therefore, data from 714 farmers in Benin were collected using multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed by employing the PLS method. The results proved the positive influence of Attitude, Subjective Norms and Perceived Control Behaviour respectively on the Intention to use climate forecasts in decision-making in farming. It should however be noted that the impact of Subjective Norms proved to be insignificant. The results also show that it is important to improve farmers beliefs as to the added value of using climate forecasts in their adaptation strategies. This study, therefore, provides a view of the importance of psychological factors in the use of agricultural climate forecasts in developing countries. The findings of this study are relevant for devising adaptive strategies in the agricultural sector.

The estuarian and lagoon areas of southeast Benin are atypical lake territories where private property rights are hereditary from endogenous legal tradition. People live in stilt dwellings and are exclusively dedicated to free-to-access fishing. Consequently, an increasing number of fishers with low respect for the State’s general rules for sustainable fishing contribute to legal pluralism and the tragedy of the commons. Co-management of small-scale fisheries has been advocated to offer various benefits, including improved socio-ecological integration, shared sustainable livelihoods, and adherence to biodiversity objectives. This study aims to assess the factors that influence the willingness of small-scale fishers to adopt property rights co-management options in southeast Benin. The data were collected using the discrete choice experiment method. The results show that 44% of fishers are willing to adopt property rights co-management options. This willingness is determined by their involvement in the co-management committee, access to a subsidy and livelihood diversification options. These fishers are the oldest in the sample and primarily owners of Acadja, a traditional fishing tool made of bush and tree branches planted in the lake. Institutional agreements for co-management establishment, such as subsidies to support small-scale fishers’ livelihood diversification and capacity-building, must be set up to achieve co-management goals.