Au-delà du rôle régalien de l’État dans la gestion des conflits autour des aménagements hydro agricoles de la Vallée du Niger au Bénin.

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the emergence of conflicts arising from the modes of governance of hydro-agricultural developments in the Niger valley in Benin. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups and interviews were organized with the different actors involved in the governance of hydro-agricultural developments. A total of 110 people were interviewed, including leaders of rice-growers' cooperatives, public administration in the agricultural sector, and communal and local authorities. Translation of recordings from smartphones facilitated data collection and processing. Discourse analysis was used to understand the types of conflicts, their emergence and their methods of resolution. In the Niger Valley of Benin, the modes of governance observed are: community, community-private (mixed) and private. Several conflicts arose from the failure to respect operational, collective and constitutional rules. The proximity of producers to local political leaders has led to the recurrence of conflicts. Finally, beyond the regulation so desired by the various actors, other strategies based on social capital have been used by the State to ensure stability in the operation of hydro-agricultural developments.

Keywords

• management
• social capital
• regulation
• Benin
• hydro-agricultural developments
• Niger valley