Diversity and socio-economic aspects of oil palm agroforestry systems on the Allada plateau, southern Benin

Abstract

In southern Benin, oil palm is mainly cultivated by smallholders who associate it with successive crops over the three first years when the trees are immature. There is little information available on the diversity of the practices used in these young plantations and their socio-economic background, although this information is essential for proposing opportunities to improve the performance and sustainability of these systems. This study used focus groups and a survey of 54 farms to test how the selection of practices was linked with the farmer’s objectives. A conditional inference tree was used to compare the selection of the practices against socio-economic characteristics of the farmer. We identified the crops that were the most frequently associated with young oil palm trees across the region and found that the higher the fertilizer application on the associated crop the lower the application on the trees. The practices varied markedly in terms of economic indicators, reasons for selection, socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and the location of the farms. We showed that financial resources, especially for hiring external labor, household size and inclusion in social networks were important factors to take into account when evaluating alternative practices for oil palm plantations in this area.