Effect of sustainable land management (SLM) measures disseminated by the climate change resilience through sustainable land management project on the economic efficiency of maize producers in the communes of Malanville and Kouand in northern Benin

Soil degradation is increasingly becoming a problem for agricultural production due to poor production practices. The search for solutions to this phenomenon has led producers to adopt sustainable land management (SLM) strategies proposed by projects and programs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of SLM measures on the economic efficiency of maize producers who are beneficiaries of the Projet de Résiliences aux effets des ChangementsClimatiquespar la Gestion Durable des Terres au Nord Bénin (Project of Climate Change Resilience through Sustainable Land Management in Northern Benin PRCC-GDT). Economic efficiency was estimated using stochastic frontier models and dual cost function with the Cobb-Douglas specification, respectively. Socio-economic data were collected through a survey of a random sample of 152 producers, including 73 beneficiaries and 79 non-beneficiaries in the communes of Kouandé and Malanville. The results obtained show that pigeon pea, mucuna, soil fertility management, crop association, crop rotation, direct seeding, perpendicular plowing, the use of improved plants, and the use of drought-tolerant seeds are the measures most applied in maize production. The technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies are respectively on average 0.4419; 0.9887 and 0.4369 for the PRCC-GDT beneficiaries and 0.4110; 0.9887 and 0.4059 for the non-beneficiaries. Pigeon pea, crop rotation, mucuna, and the use of drought-tolerant seeds are the measures that ensure the economic efficiency of beneficiaries. Agricultural policies must be put in place to promote the adoption of SLM measures that are most effective in ensuring sustainable agriculture.