Free Report - Benin's Human Development Indicators and Maize Farming Challenges

Introduction

Benin was formerly referred to as Dahomey. The country is found in Africa content and lies in the western part. It borders Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. The country's capital city is Porto-Novo; however, the government offices are located in Cotonou, the largest city, and the economic capital. The country covers 114,763 square kilometers and, by July 2020, had an estimated population of 12.8 million ("Benin Population (2020) - Worldometer", 2020). The official language is French but has several local languages. Benin has a rich cultural diversity with 42 distinct ethnic groups and is the birthplace of voodoo ("The Republic of Benin | West Africa", 2020).

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Question one

Benin Human Development Indicators. Benin is one member of the United Nations and can be compared with the other U.N. members. The country has a human development index of 0.520 and is ranked number 163 ("Human Development Reports", 2020). Life expectancy at birth of people in Benin is 61.5 years. In matters of education, the expected schooling years in the country is 12 years. According to the 2011 PPP $, Benin has a Gross national income (GNI) per capita of $2,135. Benin also has a gender development index (GDI) of 0.883 ("Human Development Reports", 2020).

USA Human Development Indicators

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States has a human development index of 0.920 and is ranked position 15 globally ("Human Development Reports", 2020). The country has a life expectancy at birth of 78.9 years. In the United States of America (USA), the expected years spent in school among the citizens is 16.3 years. The country has a gross national income per capita (2011 PPP $) of $56,140 ("Human Development Reports", 2020). Statistics on gender show that the USA has a gender development index of 0.991.

Comparison of Benin and USA

The USA has a better human development index compared to Benin with a difference of 0.400. However, the rate of improvement in Benin's human development index is higher than that of the U.S. As of 1990, the U.S. had more than 0.850 HDI, and until 2020 the index increased by approximately of 0.100 ("Human Development Reports", 2020). While according to the HDI trends of Benin since 1990, it has shown significant improvements until 2020. In 1990, the HDI was recorded as 0.3500 and in 2020 is 0.520, a margin of about 0.200 ("Human Development Reports", 2020). The U.S. leads in the rankings compared to Benin, making the life expectancy at birth to be 78.9 years, which is higher than 61.5 in Benin ("Human Development Reports", 2020). Schooling years in Benin are lower than in the U.S. to show Benin citizens' likeliness of not attending higher learning institutions.

Improving the Human Development Index of Benin

Benin can improve its human development index by adjusting the three crucial dimensions: health, education, and living standards in the country (Widana, 2018). Benin needs first to improve access to quality health care for the residents to have a long and healthy life. It could be achieved by equipping hospitals, training healthcare staff, and providing insurance coverage to improve accessibility. Improved health care will lead to an increase in life expectancy years at birth. The second method to increase HDI would be improving the education system and encouraging the young generation to study at higher institutions. The affordability and access to education at higher levels will increase the expected years of schooling (Widana, 2018).

Also, in education matters, the average schooling years can be improved by making education accessible to the older generation (Widana, 2018). Benin should have programs that encourage the older generation to continue learning to update their skills and know the current developments. The third thing to improve Benin's human development index is through the gross national income per capita. The country needs to create more employment for the citizens for they to have quality living standards. Improving living standards will result in an improved human development index (Widana, 2018).

Question Two

Benin is an agricultural country with maize as one of the leading groups. Maize farming in Benin faces several obstacles that limit productivity. The average maize harvest in the country is 1347kg/ha (Amegnaglo, 2018). Maize is the staple food in Benin, with 85% of the farmers growing, and about a third of agricultural land is for maize production (Ogoudedji et al., 2019). The first main challenge of maize farmers in Benin is the lack of access to farm inputs and capital. The second main challenge is the weak institutional environment for maize farmers. The critical solutions to the problems are the formulation of policies that facilitate easy access to critical inputs, finances, and training of farmers, which encourage infrastructure improvement, especially in maize plantations or farms (Amegnaglo, 2018).

Access to inputs and capital are significant factors that affect the production of maize in Benin. The presence of labor, fertilizers, capital, and quality maize seeds impacts maize yield. Most farmers in Benin live in rural areas and have low incomes compared to urban residents (Ogoudedji et al., 2019). The lands in the rural have depleted their fertility for continuous crop growing, which demands fertilizers. The lands have degraded, and it makes access to fertilizers indispensable for the maize farmers (Amegnaglo, 2018). Many farmers practicing agriculture are large live in the country's rural areas and are mostly low-income class. Lower-income farmers cannot access fertilizers, quality maize seeds, farm equipment, and chemicals necessary for significant maize growing.

Maize farmers in Benin have little access to markets for their produce, which lowers the country's aggregate maize yield. Commercialization positively affects maize production through specialization, and intensification, and reduces the wastage of farm produce. Generally, the resources are well utilized in specialization, and inputs are used effectively. Benin farmers do not have access to extensive services, for instance, agricultural specialists (Ogoudedji et al., 2019). The presence of extension workers to the maize farmers is critical, and they provide information on the best agricultural practices that are likely to yield more produce. The rural maize farmers mostly depend on traditional agriculture practices of agriculture due to a lack of empowerment in the new maize production technologies.

Based on the challenges met by maize farmers, policymakers in Benin can help to improve maize production by enabling easy access to significant inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, labor, and farm equipment. The Benin government needs to establish an institutional environment for maize farmers to consistently access markets and essential services. Roads and other social amenities in rural areas need to be constructed to facilitate easy access to maize markets. Also, many farmers in Benin are not educated, which makes it necessary to have training programs to improve crop management practices (Amegnaglo, 2018).

References

Amegnaglo, C. J. (2018). Determinants of maize farmers' performance in Benin, West Africa. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452315117305039

Benin Population (2020) - Worldometer. Worldometers.info. (2020). https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/benin-population/.

Human Development Reports. Hdr.undp.org. (2020).http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries

Ogoudedji, S. A., Egyir, I. S., Osei-Asare, Y., Seini, A. H. W., & Honlonkou, A. (2019). Assessing drivers of maize storage losses in southwest Benin using a fractional response model. Journal of Stored Products Research, 83, 281-291. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022474X1830119X

The Republic of Benin | West Africa. Eros.usgs.gov. (2020). https://eros.usgs.gov/westafrica/country/republic-benin.

Widana, I. W. (2018). Education sector optimization for improving human development index. http://repo.ikippgribali.ac.id/id/eprint/665/1/5.%20EDUCATIONAL%20SECTOR.pdf