Socioeconomic determinants of the creation of farm business by youth in north-western Benin

Abstract

The high potentials of the agricultural sector in terms of income and jobs in Benin contrasts with unemployment among youth. Thus, this study investigated the socioeconomic factors determining the creation of farm business by youth in the northwest of Benin. Based on a random sample of 198 young farmers and with the criteria of labor and market dependence, a typology of the farms was made. Then, an analysis of the determinants of farm business creation was carried out by using a logistic regression model. The results showed that there are four types of farms in the study area, namely: modern farm business, family farm business, modern family farm and peasant family farm. Whereas “family farm business” is characterized by both a dominance of market dependence and a family labor, the most developed form, the “modern family farm,” is characterized by both a dominance of self-consumption and a hired labor, adopted by few. Based on the market dependence criterion only, those four farming types were re-grouped into two main types: family farm and farm business. Whereas family farm is characterized by a dominance of self-consumption, farm business is market-oriented. From this typology, it emerged that there are more farmers with basic education and basic training in agriculture, belonging to an agricultural association and having land ownership in farm businesses than in family farms. The results also showed that professional training in agriculture and land ownership positively influenced the creation of farm business, whereas, savings, number of family agricultural workers and contact with agricultural extension services negatively influenced it. This suggests that making credit more attractive and developing a new type of coaching to support young entrepreneurs would be more favorable to the emergence of farm businesses. Integrating these results could help to improve the orientation of policies and projects devoted to promoting agricultural entrepreneurship among youth in Benin. Key words: Farmers, Agri-business, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Employment of youth, Farming, Determinants, Benin