University of Gent
Faculty of Agriculture and Applied Biological Sciences
ICP / Food Science and Nutrition
1999 - 2000

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Country Presentation
REPUBLIC OF BENIN

Key historical events
 

The Republic of Benin is the former Republic of Dahomey. Dahomey was called after the historic kingdom of Dahomey or Abomey, conquered by the French in 1892-94. The new name given to the country on 30 November 1975 came from the Bight of Benin and the former "French Bight of Benin Settlements", themselves called after the ancient kingdom of Benin in modern Nigeria. The kingdom of Dahomey was powerful, well-organised state from the 17^th century, trading extensively in slaves through the port of Whydah with the Portuguese, British and French. On the coast an educated African elite grew up in the 19^th century.

After the defeat of Dahomey, whose monarchy was abolished, the French occupied territory inland up to the River Niger, and created the colony of Dahomey as part of French West Africa. Subsequently, there were several African revolts, a number occurring during the First World War. The African elite protested frequently at French rule and, as African nationalism blossomed after the Second World War, Dahomey saw lively political activity and the formation of several parties.

Dahomey became independent on 1 August 1960. Today Benin is a multi-party system country
 
 

The actual president/ Head of State/ Head of Government in Benin is Mathieu KEREKOU.
 
 

The Flag
 
 

The National Flag was, for the first time, hoisted formally on the independence day, August 1, 1960 to replace the French Flag. The colours are green, red and yellow.

As explained in the second verse of the National Anthem, the green denotes hope for renewal, the red evokes the ancestors' courage while the yellow calls to mind the country's richest treasures.
 

Geographical location
 

Benin is located in West Africa and covers a land area of 112,622 Sq. km. and constitutes a long stretch of hand perpendicular to the Coast of the Gulf of Guinea. It is bordered on the North by Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger, on the East by the Federal Republic of Nigeria and on the West by the Republic of Togo.

With a 124 kilometres long coastline, it stretches North to South some 672 kilometres while its breath extends 324 kilometres at the evident point.
 
 

Topography
 
 

Benin can be divided into five natural regions:

• A coastal area, low, sandy and about 2 to 5 kilometres wide, bounded by lagoons;
• A plateau zone called "La terre de barre" made of iron clay cut with marshy dips;

• A hilly region in the Northwest, the Atakora, with elevation ranging from 500 to 800 metres and constituting the water reservoir for Benin and Niger Republics. Niger plains which are vast fertile silica-clayey areas.

Vegetation
 

The forest thins out considerably in the centre and gives way to grassland. Elsewhere, cultivated crops Predominate, including the immense palmgroves of lower Benin and the coconut plantations on the 124 kilometres long coastline and along the lagoons.
 
 

Climatology
 
 

Benin is characterised by unusually dry conditions. This is due primarily to two very important factors. First, the situation of the coast which is rather well protected from the western winds; second, the Atakora Barrier in the West and north-west which decreases the amount of rainfall.

The great part of the country is under the influence of transitional tropical conditions. Rainfall is not as abundant as found in areas with the same latitude thereby giving rise to tropical conditions known as the Benin variant.

These conditions are marked by a dry season from November to the beginning of April and a rainy season from the latter part of April to October.

The Southern portion of the Republic of Benin, i.e. the Coastal zone, is under the influence of a Northern transitional equatorial climate characterised by a long dry season from November to the end of March, a first rainy season from April to July, a small dry period in August and a second rainy season in September and October.

The Northern portion of the country is subject to a true tropical climate. A long dry season in winter can be observed with a long rainy season in the summer.

The mean temperature is between 77oF and 82oF (25o to 28oC).
 
 

 

INDICATORS	BENIN(1999)	COMPARATIVE DATA FOR BELGIUM
POPULATION	6,305,567
DENSITY	49.4km²
BIRTH RATE	45.37 births/1000	10 births/1000
DEATH RATE	12.4 deaths/1000
POP. GROWTH RATE	3.3%
TOTAL FERTILITY RATE	6.4child./wom.	1.6childr./wom
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH	54 years
INFANT MORTALITY	98 deaths/1000live births	6 deaths/1000live births
PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT RATIO	72%
CHILDREN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL REACHING GRADE 5	61%
SECONDARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT RATIO	48%
TOTAL ADULTELITERACY RATE	37
GNP	380 per capita (US$°	26,730

 
 
 

The population of Benin is concentrated in Southern coastal region near the major port city of Cotonou (800,000 inhabitants) the chief town of the Atlantic Department, the capital city of Porto-Novo (400,000 inhabitants) in the Oueme Department as well as the "Royal City" of Abomey (160,000 inhabitants) in the Central Department of Zou. Other important towns are Ouidah, Allada, Abomey, Grand Popo, Lokossa, Save, Savalou, Parakou, Djougou, Natitingou, Malanville, Kandi.
 

Languages
 

Over half the people speak Fon. Yoruba, Mina, Bariba and Dendi are the other important languages. French is the official language. Beside the French language, English is necessarily one of the two foreign languages taught in secondary schools.
 

Places of Interest
 

Ouidah:
 
 

Spelt "WHYDAH" in history books written in English, it is the "Museum City". It is evocative of European penetration with its ancient Portuguese, English, Danish and French trading posts or strongholds. There can be seen the remains of the ancient port from which slaves were boarded and shipped to the Americas.
 
 

Abomey:

Referred to as the "Royal City", it is the capital of Dan-Home, the ancient Kingdom. It has one of the most impressive museums of Africa. Its artists and craftsmen, be they weavers, jewellers, woodcarvers, iron and brass workers are famous far beyond the boundaries of the Republic of BENIN.
 

Allada:

It is the city; the cradle of "voodoos" in vogue in the Americas, namely in Brazil, West Indies, the Caribbean countries.
 

Porto-Novo:

The "City with three Names" (Porto Novo,Hogbonou,Adjatche) . It is Benin's administrative capital, right in he middle of the Yoruba land.
 
 

Nikki:

The historic capital of the Baatonu people.
 

Natitingou:

Its castle-type "TATA-Sombas" and the traditional huts of the Tanekas and other tribes in the North where there are the richly varied fauna of the National Parks of Pendjari and "W".
 
 

Ganvie:

AFRICA's unique floating villages built on stilts. A population of several thousand. Motor boats or dugouts are available for the trips across the lake to the Ganvie. During the trip, there are Akadjas made of stakes and bushes in the shape of open circles or triangles driven into the bed of the plantless Lake. Seeking shelter among the foliage, the fish can thus be easily caught or kept for breeding.
 
 

BENIN ECONOMY

The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a sound 4% in 1990-95 and 5% in 1996-98. Rapid population growth has offset much of this growth in output. Inflation has subsided over the past three years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages.
 
 

Industry and trading

Industry accounts for only a small percentage of the GNP (gross domestic product):14%. Fishing industry meets only local consumption so does textile industry. Palm processing facility needs improving; a sugar complex and a cement factory are jointly owned with Nigeria. Breweries, soap unit... meet only local demand. Possotome village is, however, known for its internationally recognized mineral water.

A part from limestone found in open quarry at ONIGBOLO, deposits of gold, phosphates, iron ore, marble, clay... are yet to be explored. The development of off- shore fields at SEME and elsewhere are underway. A Benin/Togo hydroelectric power has just been completed on the Mono River (the NANGBETO dam). There are attractive industrial projects and feasibility studies are available for some of them. The Beninese code of investment has been reviewed to insert, among other things, more incentives for investors. Benin is the natural gateway to Togo and Nigeria and to such landlocked countries as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

Direct investments by American companies are promoted and strongly encouraged by the Benin Government. There can be joint ventures between Benin private sector and American companies to carry out such industrial undertakings as canning, paper processing units, glass manufacturing, salt processing units, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, clothing, palm oil, building materials, chemicals and any other items reflective of an industrial developing nation.
 
 

Agricultural sector represents 34% of Benin GDP.

Benin has made good progress since the early 1980 in boosting food supplies and improving food security. Daily per capita food supplies increased by more than 300 calories between 1984/85 and 1993/94 to a level of over 2,450 calories. Nevertheless, chronic malnutrition rates remain high, especially among children and pregnant women.

The main reason for the increase in food supplies and improved food security was the marked acceleration in agricultural growth rates. Annual growth rates of agricultural production rose from 1.2 per cent per annum during 1961-1984 to 4.8 per cent during 1984-1994 (FAO, 1996a). Food production (mainly cereals) expanded rapidly, by 5.2 per cent per annum during the 1980s and by a further 5.7 per cent per annum during 1990-1994 (UNCTAD, 1996, A-8).

There was also strong growth in cotton production for export. Given that agriculture is the main occupation of 76 per cent of Benin workforce, the strong performance of the agricultural sector had a widespread impact on incomes and therefore on the ability of people to command access to food.

Agricultural growth was achieved despite severe constraints on agricultural development, including the limited and very irregular rainfall, environmental degradation, lack of irrigation, farm equipment and traction animals, low levels of fertilizer use, the fragmentation of plots and very high adult illiteracy rates (FAO, 1996a, 99. 110-114).

From 1983 the government pursued a strategy of agricultural and rural development aimed at promoting food self-sufficiency, increasing rural incomes and protecting and restoring natural resources.

More than 42 per cent of the development budgets of the 1980s was allocated to agriculture and investment in the rural areas (FAO, 1996a, p.116), while social expenditures in the latter received an increased share of government current expenditures.

Agricultural development policies incorporated a participatory grass-roots approach, with local communities on encouraged to contribute labor and funds to public investment projects. Investment in the rural areas included the construction of small and medium-scale reservoirs for irrigation and soil conservation (Société Sucrière de Savè).
 

Agricultural research and extension services were reformed to make them better suited to the need of small farmers, and this contributed to the adoption of improving farm technologies. An increase in the internal terms of trade for agriculture, brought about by reductions in taxes on export crops and marketing margins, boosted price incentives for farmers. Guaranteed marketing arrangements for cash and food crops were strengthened. A public marketing monopoly provided guaranteed prices for cereals and maintained a food security reserve. Subsidies for input such as fertilizer were removed, but this did not prevent an increase in fertilizer use, particularly with regards to food crops. Since 1991 agricultural policy reforms have been implemented. The government has reduced public expenditures on agriculture because of increasing fiscal deficits and external debt areas. It is also begun to liberalize agricultural marketing, trade and prices. Benin was successful in boosting agricultural growth rate in a predominantly peasant farm sector, mainly because it devoted substantial public resources to agricultural investment, research and extension, and provided farmers with strong and stable price incentive through public marketing arrangements. This eventually proved to be fiscally unsustainable. The challenge facing Benin to maintain the momentum of equitable agricultural development under a more market-oriented policy regime in which the public sectors play a less prominent role.

The health indicators concern the provision of services and the health status of the population. Malaria (112 cases per 1.000 inhabitants/year), diarrhea, respiratory infections and sexually transmittable diseases, are the main problems that affect the population. Aids pandemic, almost at zero level in 1980 is clearly increasing despite the efforts expended by the medical autorities.
 
 

Between 1960 and 1975, life expectancy at birth increased from 37 to 56 years. Infant mortality situation improved as well going from 147 to 99%o between 1980 and 1995. The sensitive increase of longevity and the reduction of infant mortality are attributed to the great progress in medical level, particularly to the vaccination rate and the implementation of primary health care.

It is important to underline a shortage of sanitary staff in comparison with the norms defined by WHO. In 1995, there was 1 doctor for 19.617 inhabitants for a norm of 10.000 ; one nurse for 4.818 inhabitants(norm : 5.000 inhabitants according to WHO convention). This shortage of human ressources could be partly explained by a freezing of recruitment in the public administration and the voluntary resigns from the public service which are some measures of the Structural Adjustment Program (PAS) implemented since the beginning of 1990s

For the sanitary infrastructures, the situation is far from brillant. Between 1986 and 1995, the number of departmental hospitals (CHD), national hospitals, prefectural health centers or urban area health centers (CSSP/CSCU) was stationary. There is only one hospital with national reference, 5 CHD and 84 CSSP/CSCU.

On the other hand, in the same period, the number of communal health centers (CCS) has increased by 30% going from 258 to 339; the number of maternity hospitals from 4 to 15 and the number of village health unities (UVS) from 281 to 352.

It should be said that appart these public health centers, ones estimated an extra 529 private centers in 1996. They employ more than 800 persons and by the nature of their actions, improve the national network with sanitary infrastructures.

Concerning nutritional status, the food production assures the energy and protein needs of the local population. But, it is necessary to tell that, this balance covers the disparities in food distribution.