Analysis of the Economic Profitability of Fish Hole Production in the Lower Oueme Valley in Benin

Socio-economic data were collected from 366 producers in four communes: Adjohoun, Aguégués, Bonou and Dangbo in southern Benin. The Gordon static model and the COBB-DOUGLAS model were used to evaluate the profitability of fish hole exploitation. The analyses show that in the first year of production, the profitability of the fish holes presents a deficit between 0 and 750.000 FCFA. This deficit is attributable to the cost of the labor which significantly influences the reduction of the incomes of the producers. However, the variables area, yield and unit selling price have a positive and significant impact on income. From the second year of production, the activity becomes beneficial with gains varying between 30,000 and 120,000 FCFA depending on the hole due to the decrease in labor costs and its insignificance in the variation of producers' income. Variables such as area, yield and the selling price of a kilogram of fish explain 98% of the variation in producers' income. The 2% of variation in annual profit not explained by the variables introduced in the model would be attributable to factors that are difficult to measure such as the level of water production, climatic conditions and the various changes that can be recorded from one season to another