Advisor quality and productive resources as complementary drivers of farmers’ satisfaction with agricultural extension services in Benin

Abstract Pluralistic delivery systems, in which private providers operate alongside public structures, are reshaping agricultural advisory services across sub-Saharan Africa, yet little is known about what makes farmers satisfied with the services they receive. Using a nationally representative panel of 2,300 Beninese farm households surveyed over three campaigns (2019-2020, 2022-2023, 2024-2025), this study analyzes the determinants of farmers’ satisfaction with Farm Management, Specialized Technical, and Market Access Advisory Services. A Generalized Structural Equation Model estimated by Full Information Maximum Likelihood jointly addresses selection into advisory services and the conditional formation of satisfaction. Access to advisory services is found to be unevenly distributed. Male farmers, members of producer organizations, and households located in cash-crop zones are disproportionately reached by existing delivery structures. Among beneficiaries, participation alone is not associated with satisfaction. Satisfaction is instead shaped by perceived advisor quality, understood through competence, punctuality, kindness, and visit frequency, and, for technically demanding services, by access to the inputs and credit needed to act on advice received. The findings expose a dual challenge that policymakers cannot resolve separately. Expanding coverage to under-served groups is necessary but insufficient if the relational and technical quality of delivery erodes in the process. By combining longitudinal data, selection correction, and a disaggregated treatment of service types, the study offers a replicable framework for monitoring farmer satisfaction in the pluralistic extension systems now consolidating across sub-Saharan Africa.