Adaptation of the “Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA)” method for assessing sustainability of farms in the lower valley of Ouémé River in the Republic of Benin

Abstract

The Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA) method was adapted and used to study the sustainability of farms in the Ouémé lower valley in the Republic of Benin. The IDEA survey was tested among a sample of farmers, through discussion groups at village level and via interviews with resource staff. The data collected were then subjected to binomial tests and results from the interviews subject to Student t-test. The study showed that some units of sustainability in the initial version of IDEA are applicable in the study area without modification. Other units, such as permanent or temporary grassland, were rejected as they were not considered relevant by village assemblies. Some elementary units, such as the spatial units of the same crop (indicator A6: size of plots), were reformulated to meet the local context. Finally, the scores for some sustainability indicators, such as C1 (economic viability), were adjusted to meet the local context. With further modification, the adapted version of the IDEA method could be used in other agro-ecological zones in Benin and Africa.