Cooperatives and sustainability: The case of maize producers in the plateaux region of Togo.

This study analyzed the influence of the producer's organizational form (individual or cooperative) on the three dimensions (economic, social and environmental) of sustainability in the Plateaux Region of Togo. An innovative approach called Deep Participatory Indicator-Based (DPIB) was used to target the analysis at the producer local level. The environmental sustainability score was above average for individual producers compared to cooperatives. Economic sustainability score is not related to the producer's organization form. Social sustainability was not dependent on the form of organization. The analyses led to participatory planning and actions based on three cooperative principles. Actions based on the seventh cooperative principle - Concern for Community - raise awareness among cooperators producers on the importance of carrying out social works, agro-ecological practices and sustainable agriculture for community members. The actions related to the fifth and sixth cooperative principles - Education, Training & Information and Cooperation among Cooperatives, strengthen the capacities of cooperatives on the need to seek higher quality markets and inform coops in the region about opportunities for combined marketing actions.

Adaptation strategies of cattle farmers in the dry and sub-humid tropical zones of Benin in the context of climate change.

Cattle farming is directly impacted by climate change (CC), as it utilizes resources whose seasonality and productivity are strongly climate-dependent. Farmers respond to the negative influence of CC by implementing different adaptation strategies, where choices are informed by many factors. This study aims at analyzing the adaptation strategies of cattle farmers in the dry tropical zone (DTZ) and sub-humid tropical zone (STZ) of Benin with regard to climate change, as well as the determinants for the choice of these strategies. For that matter, 360 cattle farmers were surveyed. Data collected were related to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the cattle farmers, their perception and adaptation to CC. The data collected were subjected to frequency analysis and binary logistic regression. The results showed that livestock farmers were partly aware of climate related with CC, especially the increase of temperature. The most important adaptation strategies mentioned by cattle farmers were mobility, integration of livestock and crop husbandry, provision of concentrate feed, reduction of herd size, diversification of livestock, and forage cropping. Farming experience, cattle herd size, membership in an organization, number of farm assets, level of education, and climate zone were the major variables affecting farmers' adaptation strategies. From this study, we recommend that any program promoting adaption of climate change resilience among farmers, especially cattle farmers, should take the identified factors into account.