Breaking Benin’s vegetable bottlenecks: Water, skills and farmer networks drive five-fold growth 

– 08 May 2026 –

Vegetable farmers from the CoLDA-Benin VBN collect water from a borehole constructed under the APL project. Photo by Fresnel Etcho / VBN coach

For years, vegetable farmers in Benin, had both land and demand. What they lacked was water.

Irrigation sources were scarce and often distant. Many farmers had to carry watering cans over long distances, limiting what they could grow. Most cultivated only small plots, and production frequently stopped altogether during the dry season.

This resulted in persistently low incomes, underused land, and occasional disputes over water. Higher-value crops, particularly African eggplant (gboma) and leafy vegetables such as lettuce and amaranth, were sometimes abandoned.

“We knew these crops were profitable, but we just could not grow them much,” recalls Rene Sossavi, a vegetable farmer from Bohicon, southern Benin.

A Coordinated intervention

Change came through the combined efforts of two initiatives: the Grass-Roots Human Security Grant Scheme (APL) of the Embassy of Japan in Benin, and SafeVeg – a WorldVeg-led project that aims to increase the production and consumption of safe, nutritious vegetables in Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.

APL focused on improving critical irrigation infrastructure. It supported the installation of new irrigation systems closer to farmers’ plots – including the digging of new boreholes; installation of water storage systems; solar-powered pumping systems, and the establishment of drip irrigation.

Soon, the farms had sustainable sources of water.

But improvement to irrigation infrastructure alone was only part of the solution; farmers also needed the knowledge, skills, and improved vegetable varieties to use it effectively. They also had to organise themselves to buy inputs and sell their produce collectively.

So, in parallel, SafeVeg supported the establishment of Vegetable Business Networks (VBNs). These are farmer-led groups that link growers with buyers, suppliers, finance and training. They aim to help small-scale farmers act collectively as a single business. In Benin, more than 200 such networks have been piloted.

Two VBNs representing local farmers in southern Benin – the Cooperative of Leaders for Agricultural Development Benin (CoLDA, by its French acronym) in Bohicon, and Agri Sante in Djidja – were brought into the project.

Through these networks, farmers learned improved practices such as the use of plant-based biopesticides and biostimulants, alongside better water management techniques. They also received improved seeds for vegetables such as pepper (including habanero and chili), tomato, amaranth, and gboma. This ensured that not only was the water constraint overcome, the crops were also more resilient to pests, disease and heat stress, and more productive overall.

(from left to right): A water tower in Bohicon, constructed as part of an irrigation system under the APL project; arrots growing in Bohicon, by farmers in the Agri-Sante VBN; Solar panels on a farm in the Fenou-VBN (Bohicon), as part of a solar irrigation system installed under the APL project. Photo by Fresnel Etcho / VBN coach

Production expands, markets return

Access to water has transformed what farmers can produce – and when. The CoLDA farmer group has expanded its vegetable cultivation area from about one hectare to nearly five, and production now continues year-round, including through the more profitable dry season.

Production costs have also fallen, with solar-powered irrigation reducing reliance on diesel-powered pumps. Shorter distances to access water have eased the physical burden of farming.

The changes extend beyond production too. Cooperation within farmer groups has improved, with shared systems now in place for maintaining irrigation infrastructure and managing access. “Now, some use the drip system while others use watering cans,” says Jonas Adanto-Hounon. “We organise ourselves so everyone can irrigate. There is no more water conflict.”

VBN members have also established maintenance mechanisms. Farmer leaders collect fees from vegetable farmers, after each harvest, which are mainly used for the maintenance of the irrigation facilities  and for the site security, to ensure the long-term functionality of the infrastructure beyond the project lifecycle.

Improved reliability is also helping farmers reconnect with vegetable wholesalers representing bulk buyers, which require consistent supply.

It means the work is reshaping and reinvigorating an entire value chain.

“The projects have done their part,” continues Rene. “Now it is our turn to take care of what we have.”

Story by: Fresnel Etcho and Edmond Totin.

The work is part of SafeVeg Work Package 5 on Vegetable Business Networks. SafeVeg is funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. It is implemented by the World Vegetable Center, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), along with national partners: the Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB, Benin), the Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA, Burkina Faso), and the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER, Mali).

This work is part of the WorldVeg action area on…