Impact of The Adoption of Improved Seeds on Maize Productivity in Benin
Date
2026
Authors
Christelle Yèba AKPO
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
Maize occupies a prominent place in Benin's agricultural sector in that it is widely consumed and represents a potential source of foreign exchange for the country. The objective here is therefore to analyse the effects of adopting improved seed varieties on productivity in Benin. More specifically, it aims to (1) identify the factors that influence farmers' decisions to adopt improved maize varieties, and
(2) estimate the impact of adopting improved seeds on maize yields. The data used are secondary and extracted from the database of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Programme of the National Institute for Agricultural Research of Benin (PAPA/INRAB) and cover a random sample of 356 maize producers. Using the regime-switching regression model to control for potential selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity issues, it is shown that access to credit, the amount of fertiliser used, technical support and membership of a farmers' organisation are among the factors that determine the adoption of improved maize varieties by farmers. Furthermore, the results clearly show that the adoption of improved maize seed varieties is associated with improved productivity among adopters, suggesting that efforts to disseminate improved varieties to non-adopters should be continued to maximise the benefits inherent in this innovation.