Socio-Agronomic Determinants of Farmland Access in Vegetable Production Systems in Northern Benin: Evidence from Bassila

In sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly in Benin, vegetable production holds significant potential for enhancing food security, generating employment, and fostering sustainable community development. However, despite these obvious advantages, vegetable production systems remain under-exploited in northern Benin, largely due to persistent challenges related to land management and limited access to key production resources. This study aimed to identify the socio-agronomic factors influencing access to farmland in vegetable production systems in the municipality of Bassila, northern Benin. Data were obtained through a semi-structured survey among vegetable farmers in the municipality and analyzed using generalized linear model (GLM) in R software. The results revealed that only the sex of the farmers and the mode of land acquisition have a significant effect on the size of cultivated farmland (p-value < 0.05). On average, male farmers had access to 2.54 times more farmland than female farmers. Moreover, the largest land were obtained through inheritance, a mode of acquisition that has historically favored men, thereby reinforcing gender inequalities. These disparities in land access contribute to structural inequalities within the vegetable farming sector and represent a major barrier to inclusive rural development. To remedy these socio-economic disparities, it is important to develop and implement gender-responsive agricultural policies guaranteeing equitable access to farmland resources and promoting inclusive growth in the sector.