Characterization and Typology of Banana Producing Farms in the District of Houeyogbe in Southern Benin

Background: Banana constitutes an important crop in the tropics and participates in food security in many countries of Africa. It is a widely consumed fruit in Benin. Unfortunately, the trend in yields of this crop showed a year to year decrease since 2008 to 2019, leading production to continue falling short of demand. However, there is a paucity of information on farming systems in Benin, an important step to tackle this issue. This study aims at characterizing the types of bananas farming production systems.

Methods: We conducted structured interviews with sixty-two (62) farmers in four villages of Houéyogbé District in southern Benin between November 2015 and February 2016. Farmers were selected randomly in each village from lists based on the recommendation of local authorities and extension services officers.

Results: The results reveal three classes of banana farms which operate differently and thus have different features. Group 1 is made up of small-scale farms with low-income farmers. These farmers did not hire labour, did not follow agronomic production practices, and did not maintain their farms well. Such farms can be classed as “backyard crop garden”. Group 2 includes farms with average size and income in whose farmers maintain their fields, conduct inter-cropping, did not use bought planting material but sold it. Exclusively headed by men, Group 3 includes large-size banana farms whose owners had high income, who use fertilizer, and maintain their farms well. Areas planted, seed purchase, leaf-stripping and system of production significantly influence income at the 1%, 5% and 10% thresholds respectively.

Conclusion: Several constraints to banana production have been identified through this study. They include pests and diseases, lack of clean-certified planting material, type of land, amount of fertilizer and maintenance inputs, and market. In addition, production is limited by a lack of knowledge on agronomic practices. Training on macro-propagation, agronomic practices, pests and diseases recognition with control strategy could help overcome these constraints and improve banana production in this district.