Factors Affecting the Income of Farmers Participating In Traditional and Modern Livestock Markets: Case Study from Benin Republic

Livestock markets in pastoral areas of Africa are institutions that facilitate the marketing of animals and animal products. The income of farmers participating in these livestock markets is influenced by various social and economic factors. These factors are generally not considered by farmers when making their decisions. Knowledge and control of these factors will enable farmers to make rational decisions in the production and sale of their animals, and thus improve their income. It is in this context that this study aimed to determine the factors affecting the income of rural households engaged in animal husbandry in the Republic of Benin. Livestock production system in Benin has been mostly traditional. However, the system has been gradually modernized. The farmers have marketed their livestock and livestock products in two types of selfmanaged livestock markets which are “Marché à Bétail Autogéré” (MBA) as modern market and “Marché à bétails Traditionnel (MT) as traditional livestock markets. The data of the research were obtained from face-to-face surveys conducted with 300 farmers in livestock markets. Multivariate regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting rural household income. Model results show that the variables of education level, experience in livestock farming, access to credit, number of cattle, number of sheep, pasture use, access to veterinary services, and membership to a livestock organization had a significant positive effect on the incomes of farmers preferring the MBA livestock market. While the variables of experience in livestock farming, number of cattle, pasture use, farmland ownership, and number of sheep had a significant positive effect on the incomes of farmers preferring the MT livestock market.