Socioeconomic factors determining the allocation of the family labor of the Banikoara cotton farms in North Benin[Facteurs socioéconomiques déterminants de l’allocation de la main-d’œuvre familiale des exploitations cotonnières de Banikoara au Nord-Bénin]

Improving agricultural productivity means optimizing production factors such as land, labor and capital. Cotton farming is a source of employment and income for the majority of farms in Benin. This crop is confronted with the serious problem of labor shortage which can lead to the reduction of the areas planted. The objective of this study is to characterize the family labor force and to assess the determinants of the allocation of the family labor of the Banikoara cotton farms in North Benin. Since all the components of the farm household contribute to the family labor force of the cotton farms, the study considered the family labor force as well children, women, men and total. It was conducted on a sample of 144 producers from Tokey, Gomparou, Somperekou and Toura villages in Banikoara. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the family labor and the multiple linear regression model performed under the R software identified socioeconomic factors affecting the allocation of the family labor force. The results show that this workforce is low skilled, poorly educated and poorly literate. The determinants of family labor allocation differ according to whether we have children, women, men, or the whole. Overall, the family labor force is determined by the cost of hired labor, access to cotton credit, the area of cotton and the number of farm assets. The number of agricultural assets and the area of cotton are the determinants common to all types of family labor.