Simultaneous modelling of the determinants of the partial inputs productivity in the municipality of Banikoara, Northern Benin

This study aims at assessing the determinants of the agricultural productivity through the partial productivities of the main production factors (land, labor and capital), using primary data collected from a sample of 210 farmers randomly selected in two villages belonging to the municipality of Banikoara in Northern Benin (West Africa). The partial land, labor and capital productivities are 163643.90 francs CFA/ha, 1716.92 francs CFA/Man.Day, and 2.48 respectively, implying that land is the most productive factor. The seemingly unrelated regression model is highly significant at 1% and revealed factors such as the household head gender, experience in agriculture, off – farm income employment; the household size; the sizes of land under maize, sorghum, and cotton cultivation; the household’s capital; and the maize fertilisation as determinants of the partial land productivity. The partial labor productivity is influenced by the household head gender, his experience in agriculture, an off – farm income employment, the household size, the sizes of land under rice and cotton cultivation, the household’s capital, and the access to credit whereas the household size, the land size under cotton cultivation, and the household’s capital affect the partial capital productivity. These factors need to be taken into account by policy to design agricultural projects that aim to improve agricultural productivity. The land size to be allocated to different crops has to be at the centre of agricultural policy as it has influenced all partial agricultural productivities.