Trade of agricultural products in the markets of the Commune of Allada in Southern Bénin

Markets are places of trade and exchange and bring in a wide range of goods, capital, services and people. They play a key role in the development process. The objective of the study was to analyse the place of trade in agricultural products in the local economy of the commune of Allada in southern Benin. The methodological approach was to collect data from 150 heads of agricultural households, process and analyse them statistically, and then calculate the population growth. The population grew
from 76,259 inhabitants in 1979 to 127,512 in 2013. This population increase has led to the development of various socioeconomic activities that contribute to the development of the commune of Allada. Agricultural food products were sold all over the markets. The marketing of agricultural food products was done in the form of a chain. Producers delivered their products to wholesalers or semiwholesalers who sold them to retailers who made them available to consumers. Large consumers with their own means of transport went directly to the collection markets. However, 55% of retailers were able to buy directly from the producer or wholesaler very early in the morning, and nearly 20% of wholesalers bought from producers at home or in the field or on the roads leading to the markets (for cassava derivatives, vegetables, tomatoes, etc.). Therefore the markets in the Atlantic Department in general and those in the Commune of Allada in particular are animated by producer sellers, traders of all categories, consumers, and transporters/drivers. Several agricultural products animate the trade in
the local markets of the Commune of Allada and involve a number of actors.