Fondements Géographiques De La Valorisation Agricole Des Bas-Fonds Au Sud Du Bassin Versant De l’Oti (Bénin)

Abstract

In the south of Oti catchment in Benin, the agricultural development of the lowlands for rice and vegetable cultivation, guarantees a large part of food resources. It also serves as an important source of financial income to agricultural households. This paper focuses on understanding the geographical foundations of this kind of agricultural production in the study area. Surveys of 207 farm households and the statistical processing of climatic, demographic, agricultural and socio-economic data have made it possible to highlight the natural and human factors of farm occupation and the use of these lowland agro-ecosystems. The results obtained revealed that the population of the south of Oti catchment has almost doubly increased between 1992 and 2013. It will increase four times in 2050 by creating the need to have excess food. In addition to this situation, climatic parameters fluctuation, plateau land qualitative tiredness, and major constraints of traditional agriculture were added. Henceforth, these are factors, in addition to the richness of the lowlands and water availability for a long period, which have helped in motivating the population of farmers. About 2000 ha of lowlands were reclaimed by irrigation schemes between 1982 and 2015 in this area. This was possible with the help of technical structures and agricultural development organizations.