Abstract

More than 40% of the Benin population is employed in the agricultural sector. It is central to the economy and to livelihoods in the country. As such, food security and nutrition (FSN) policies are critical to spurring Benin’s development. The supply and use of evidence play important roles in improving the quality of these policies.
This case study looks at the FSN evidence and policy ecosystem in Benin and analyses its key components and drivers. It finds that a diversity of evidence types co-exist in the ecosystem. However, while there is healthy production of research, data is short in supply and poor in quality. Research data is not used significantly by decision-makers due to its lack of relevance, accessibility and quality. Faced with this, policy-makers often turn to citizen and expert knowledge, placing a premium on evidence coming from messengers they trust, rather than on the type or method of generation.
Intermediaries can help process research evidence into readily available products for policy-makers. They can also work to build trusted relationships with policy-makers to raise their awareness on evidence use, and create prospects for lasting demand.
Institutional frameworks can also generate formal requirements for sustainable evidence use and production in policy formulation.
It is, however, important to look beyond formal institutional frameworks and consider the power dynamics that pressure key policy-makers into using evidence. The greater involvement of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Benin agriculture policyecosystem has led to higher accountability demands, cascading production, and use of evidence to legitimise policy choices.

To cite this publication : F. S. Thoto, A.M. Aparisi, R. C. Gbedomon (2024). Evidence-informed policy-making in Benin’s agriculture, food security and nutrition ecosystem. Case Study. DOI : 10.61647/aa63047