The agricultural sector review for the year 2020 was held in Cotonou on 26 August 2021. Actors in the sector, on occasion, have made strong proposals to improve policies and make the agricultural sector the main driver of economic growth and development in Benin.

The work was officially launched in the presence of the Technical and Financial Partners (PTF). An opportunity taken by Sylvia Hartleif, Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Benin, Head of PTFs in the agricultural sector, to invite stakeholders to continue their efforts. “As macroeconomic data seem to indicate, the reforms undertaken since 2017 are bearing fruit. However, on behalf of the PTFs, I would like to invite you to continue your efforts to implement these reforms and make the agricultural sector a sector that creates jobs, decent jobs and jobs for young people,” she said. In this regard, she stressed the essential role of the private sector and non-state actors. In her intervention, Sylvia Hartleif placed particular emphasis on the climate issue, which must be at the center of actions more than ever, on supporting sustainable food systems, on the fight against food and nutritional insecurity, on the essential role that women play for the future of the rural world, and on the green economy. For the ambassador, the development of agriculture is now at the heart of the future international agenda, as a key subject of the next debates that will take place in Glasgow for COP 26 on climate change and in Kunming, China, for COP 15 on biodiversity