Outline of Presentation
   Motivation of the study
   Survey design & methods of analysis
   Factors affecting the decision to adopt irrigation
   Effect of adoption of irrigation on rice yield
   Conclusion & policy recommendation
   Motivation of the study
   Agriculture: Major source of livelihood for about 70 % of the active 
    population in Benin
     Benin  agriculture  is  handicapped  by  climate  change  and  weather 
    variability. 
   Irrigated agriculture is considered as one of the practices for controlling 
    the effects of weather variability on crop yield (FAO, 2003; Carruthers 
    et al., 1997; IWMI, 2013; Domenech, 2015).
   Motivation of the study
   Consistent  with  this,  Benin  has  developed  several  canal  irrigation 
    schemes  since  1960,  with  the  aim  to  improve  food  crop  production 
    especially rice.
   However, the objective of the rice policy to be self-sufficient in rice 
    production by 2015 was not met. 
   National rice production in 2015 is far below the target of 600, 000 MT 
    needed for self-sufficiency.
   Motivation of the study
   Increases in rice production is often driven by an increase in harvested 
    area (correlation coefficient = 0.98).
   As arable  land  cannot  be  increased  indefinitely,  the  alternative  is  to 
    improve yield.
   Irrigation contributes to crop productivity improvement through reduced 
    crop loss, multiple cropping, and expansion of crop land (Lipton et al., 
    2003; Hussain and Hanjra, 2004; Domenech, 2015). 
    Motivation of the study
     In this paper, the interest is focused on the following important question 
     for irrigation policy: 
     What informs farmers’ decision to adopt irrigation and how does adoption 
     of irrigation contribute to an improvement in rice yield in Benin?
     The general objective of this paper is to identify the factors that influence 
     the decision to adopt irrigation and its effects on rice yield in Benin.