TITLE:
Land Tenure and Environmental Dynamics-Adaptive Strategies to Ensure Food Security in the Municipalities of Djakotomey and Aplahoue in Southwest Benin
AUTHORS:
Alexis Dandjekpo, Toundé Roméo Gislain Kadjegbin, Sènangla Franco-Néo Camus Djessonou
KEYWORDS:
Municipalities of Djakotomey and Aplahoue, Adaptive Strategies, Land and Environmental Dynamics
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
23,
2026
ABSTRACT: Land is a vital source of wealth and plays a significant role in food security for the populations of the municipalities of Djakotomey and Aplahoue. This research focuses on land tenure and environmental dynamics-adaptive strategies to ensure food security in these municipalities. Climatological, agricultural, and economic data have been analyzed with appropriate statistical tools (index and ratio). SPSS 17.0 and ArcView 3.2 software have been used to process data. Findings reveal that land tenure insecurity is relatively high in the municipalities of Aplahoue and Djakotomey. Also, rainfall indices range from −2.05 to 3.72 over the study period (1961-2023). Urban expansion often encroaches on agricultural land. Moreover, plot splitting rates rise from 32% in 1990 to 81% in 2024, with a growth rate of 153.12%. Areas are highly prone to flooding (57%). Hence, the research area is subject to flooding and water erosion. Local communities develop convenient strategies to address this situation. These include the use of crop residues, composting, crop rotation, improved fallow, intercropping, crop rotation, altering the agricultural calendar, repeated and staggered sowing, increasing the area under production, developing low-lying areas, rescheduling the agricultural calendar, using improved seeds, irrigation techniques, switching to other economic activities, and organizing prayer sessions.