Adaptation Strategies to Flooding Developed by Actors in the Maize Agricultural Value Chain in Southern Benin

Maize is a cornerstone of the global economy, but its value chain is increasingly threatened by climate hazards like floods, particularly in developing countries such as Benin.This study examines the flood adaptation strategies of maize value chain actors in Southern Benin, hypothesizing that an actor's position and sociodemographic characteristics jointly determine their strategic choices.Using a mixed-sampling approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 1,128 actors across the value chain, including Input and seed suppliers, producers, animal feed manufacturer and suppliers, processors, traders, carriers, and consumers.Data on sociodemographic and adaptation strategies were analyzed using moderated logistic regression models.Our results reveal distinct adaptation strategies across actor groups.The most common strategy for Input and seed suppliers is selling in other municipalities (54.5%).The most common strategy for producers is drainage (28.3%), while animal feed manufacturer and suppliers most frequently adopt corn drying as strategy (75%).Processors most frequently adopt new income-generating activities (46%), while traders (41.3%) and carriers (55.1%) diversify by selling or transporting other goods.The most common strategy for consumers is the consumption of other products (34.9%).Crucially, our findings show that sociodemographic factors act as significant moderators.Gender strongly influences male consumers and processors' adoption of strategies.Age significantly moderates strategies for consumers and traders, while education level negatively moderates carriers' strategies, and positively moderates' processors and consumer' strategies.This research extends previous studies by providing a holistic, value chain-wide perspective, highlighting the need for targeted, context-specific interventions that account for the diverse characteristics of all actors.