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A Rapid Food Security Appraisal among 240 rural and urban dwellers in southern Benin was conducted, using univariate and bivariate analyses, to evaluate the effects of the imposed COVID-19 ‘cordon sanitaire’ on food consumption patterns. As this is one of the first empirical studies on the COVID-19 food security nexus, we found that the raging pandemic has affected the food security pillars (availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability) in both rural and urban areas, within and outside the cordon sanitaire. The steepest decline was observed among respondents who live inside the cordon sanitaire, where rural producers and urban inhabitants without access to allotment gardens were hit hard. Increased food prices, disruptions in food logistics, and inability to work due to movement restrictions were most frequently indicated as reasons for the decline. Access to allotment gardens effectively supported households in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food crisis.
Mawuna Houessou; Annemijn Cassee; Ben Sonneveld. The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in Rural and Urban Settlements in Benin: Do Allotment Gardens Soften the Blow? Sustainability 2021, 13, 7313 .
AMA StyleMawuna Houessou, Annemijn Cassee, Ben Sonneveld. The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in Rural and Urban Settlements in Benin: Do Allotment Gardens Soften the Blow? Sustainability. 2021; 13 (13):7313.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMawuna Houessou; Annemijn Cassee; Ben Sonneveld. 2021. "The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in Rural and Urban Settlements in Benin: Do Allotment Gardens Soften the Blow?" Sustainability 13, no. 13: 7313.
In the context of rapid urbanization, poorer residents in cities across low- and middle-income countries increasingly experience food and nutrition deficiencies. The United Nations has highlighted urban agriculture (UA) as a viable solution to food insecurity, by empowering the urban poor to produce their own fresh foods and make some profit from surplus production. Despite its potential role in reducing poverty and food insecurity, there appears to be little political will to support urban agriculture. This is seen in unclear political mandates that are sustained by information gaps on selection criteria for UA sites. The research reported here addresses this issue in the form of a decision-making support tool that assesses the suitability of cadastral units and informal plots for allotment gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The tool was developed and tested for three rapidly expanding cities in Benin, a low-income country in West Africa, based on an ordered logit model that relates a set of 300 expert assessments on site suitability to georeferenced information on biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Soil, land use, groundwater depth, vicinity to market and women’s safety were significant factors in the assessment. Scaled up across all cadastral units and informal sites, the tool generated detailed baseline maps on site suitability and availability of areas. Its capacity to support policymakers in selecting appropriate sites comes to the fore by reporting changes in site suitability under scenarios of improved soil fertility and enhanced safety for women.
B. Sonneveld; M. Houessou; G. Van Den Boom; A. Aoudji. Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin. Land 2021, 10, 318 .
AMA StyleB. Sonneveld, M. Houessou, G. Van Den Boom, A. Aoudji. Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin. Land. 2021; 10 (3):318.
Chicago/Turabian StyleB. Sonneveld; M. Houessou; G. Van Den Boom; A. Aoudji. 2021. "Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin." Land 10, no. 3: 318.
Propelled by rapid urbanization, city administrations in low- and middle-income countries face a raft of challenges to secure food and nutrition for its poor urban dwellers. Urban agriculture (UA) seems a viable intervention to address urban food insecurity, however, experience has shown that urban gardens do not expand at the expected rate. Tackling this issue requires a deeper understanding of the main constraints that block UA expansion. Benin is not an exception; the country witnesses a breathtaking growth of its main cities that is in synchronization with a mounting food insecurity. Our research aims, therefore, to identify the main constraints for the expansion of UA in Benin, and adopt a three-pronged approach combined with a systematic literature review, a survey held among experienced urban gardeners, and in-depth interviews with stakeholders. Altogether, the synthesis shows a predominance of five main constraints: lack of land and tenure insecurity, insufficient government support, restricted market access, limited access to productive factors, and inequality issues. Specifically, while the review showed that most barriers are linked and could be tackled together, the survey indicated a political unwillingness which in our in-depth interviews is explained by the unperceived benefits of investing in UA and the lack of enforcement of urban development plans. We suggest that Beninese authorities and academics move in synchronization where the former coordinates the planning of urban gardens and the latter provides evidence to trigger public and private investments in UA. The findings could be the basis for further research on UA in West Africa and the wider continent.
Mawuna Houessou; Mirte Van De Louw; Ben Sonneveld. What Constraints the Expansion of Urban Agriculture in Benin? Sustainability 2020, 12, 5774 .
AMA StyleMawuna Houessou, Mirte Van De Louw, Ben Sonneveld. What Constraints the Expansion of Urban Agriculture in Benin? Sustainability. 2020; 12 (14):5774.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMawuna Houessou; Mirte Van De Louw; Ben Sonneveld. 2020. "What Constraints the Expansion of Urban Agriculture in Benin?" Sustainability 12, no. 14: 5774.
Urban gardening offers a viable option to improve diet diversity for the urban poor. Yet, its success rate is particularly dependent on the managerial capacities of urban gardeners to coordinate and organize collective actions for the successful exploitation of the gardens. The calls from governments to organize cooperative structures among farmers seem justified and merits a high priority on agricultural policy agendas. Although principles of cooperative structures exist, there is no blueprint available that indicates how to start a gardeners’ cooperation. Moreover, these collaborations need to ally with and build on existing social structures of the urban gardeners involved. Our research can contribute to this alignment process by exploring and comparing international standards of prevailing organizations and their functioning among 261 gardeners in two cities in Benin. We found that a vast majority of urban gardeners are members of a cooperation. Nevertheless, their membership is largely titular because gardeners mostly behave semi-autonomously and few decisions are taken collectively. The obvious economic advantages of leveraging bargaining power, reducing transaction costs, and increasing possibilities for loans are seriously underutilized. We suggest that capacity building can help to develop cooperation among urban gardeners to reach their full potential which, congruently, should also improve the livelihoods of the urban poor.
Donald M. Houessou; Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld; Augustin K. N. Aoudji; Frejus S. Thoto; Smith A. R. Dossou; Denyse J. R. M. Snelder; Anselme A. Adegbidi; Tjard De Cock Buning. How to Transition from Cooperations to Cooperatives: A Case Study of the Factors Impacting the Organization of Urban Gardeners in Benin. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4528 .
AMA StyleDonald M. Houessou, Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld, Augustin K. N. Aoudji, Frejus S. Thoto, Smith A. R. Dossou, Denyse J. R. M. Snelder, Anselme A. Adegbidi, Tjard De Cock Buning. How to Transition from Cooperations to Cooperatives: A Case Study of the Factors Impacting the Organization of Urban Gardeners in Benin. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (17):4528.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDonald M. Houessou; Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld; Augustin K. N. Aoudji; Frejus S. Thoto; Smith A. R. Dossou; Denyse J. R. M. Snelder; Anselme A. Adegbidi; Tjard De Cock Buning. 2019. "How to Transition from Cooperations to Cooperatives: A Case Study of the Factors Impacting the Organization of Urban Gardeners in Benin." Sustainability 11, no. 17: 4528.
Ben Sonneveld; Frejus Thoto; Donald Houessou; C.F.A. van Wesenbeeck. Tragedy of the inland lakes. International Journal of the Commons 2019, 13, 609 .
AMA StyleBen Sonneveld, Frejus Thoto, Donald Houessou, C.F.A. van Wesenbeeck. Tragedy of the inland lakes. International Journal of the Commons. 2019; 13 (1):609.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBen Sonneveld; Frejus Thoto; Donald Houessou; C.F.A. van Wesenbeeck. 2019. "Tragedy of the inland lakes." International Journal of the Commons 13, no. 1: 609.