Peasant influence on development projects in Benin: a critical analysis

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	Peasant influence on development projects in Benin: a critical analysis
Authors:	Daane, J.R.V. Mongbo, R.L.
Year:	1991
Periodical:	Genève-Afrique: acta africana
Volume:	29
Issue:	2
Pages:	49-76
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Benin
Subjects:	farmers' associations rural development
Abstract:	It is felt that some sort of public institutional framework where peasants can defend their interests against those of bureaucrats and development experts is essential to the success of development projects. The authors critically assess the opportunities of such frameworks in the wake of recent political changes in Benin. They place their analysis within the wider context of peasant-State relationships in Africa and use historical case material from Benin to show that the concern about peasants' interests is not new. The bottleneck has always been the mode of governance and the bureaucrats' ability to adapt their rhetoric to that of policymakers and donor agencies, while continuing to pursue their own interests, as several cases drawn from the history of development intervention in the Zou province show. While the authors are optimistic about the new opportunities for peasants in Benin to exert influence on local issues, for example through the 'associations de développement', they conclude that the problem of rural poverty and dependency cannot be solved through local public frameworks. Bibliogr., notes, sum. also in French.