Project
Benin Poultry Value Chain Transformation (BeniPoule)
Context
Benin’s poultry sector remains highly fragmented and underdeveloped. Nearly 90% of domestic poultry meat is produced by rural households using traditional, subsistence systems that struggle to meet growing demand. Since 2015, per capita poultry consumption has increased by 40%, yet domestic production has failed to keep pace.
As a result, Benin relies on approximately 100,000 metric tons of poultry imports each year, the majority of which is then re-exported to Nigeria through border markets and other informal channels that evade Nigeria’s import ban, leaving the food system exposed to external shocks and price volatility. This reliance on imports limits domestic production and sector self-sufficiency and raises concerns over public health, food safety, and foreign exchange loss.
The government’s decision to impose a full ban on poultry meat and egg imports as of December 31, 2024, has further heightened the urgency to strengthen domestic production. Without rapid, market-driven transformation, the sector risks supply shortages and rising prices. This underscores the need to shift from subsistence production to a professionalized, commercial poultry industry.
The Opportunity
The import ban presents an important opportunity to build a resilient, competitive poultry value chain that meets national demand while creating jobs and strengthening food security. Benin can reduce dependency on imports by modernizing production, improving access to quality inputs, and strengthening downstream aggregation and processing. This will also unlock inclusive economic growth, particularly for women and youth, who face significant barriers to entering the sector.
The Strategy
BeniPoule applies a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach to catalyze lasting change across the poultry value chain. Rather than working directly with producers alone, the program pilots and scales inclusive and regenerative business models with approximately 40 market actors, including large poultry businesses, hatcheries, feed mills, abattoirs, service providers, and financial institutions. BeniPoule does not replace the market; instead, BeniPoule does not replace the market; it builds on the roles of existing actors to catalyze regenerative transformation across the value chain.
Key interventions include professionalizing poultry production, expanding access to improved day-old chicks and high-quality feed, upgrading aggregation and processing through modern abattoirs, and strengthening financial and business support services. To accelerate adoption and reduce risk, BeniPoule deploys a $2.9 million Co-Investment Facility, which helps minimize uncertainty in innovation, test commercially viable business models, and attract private investment, particularly for women- and youth-led enterprises. All support is catalytic, tied to results, and based on shared costs to ensure sustainabilitybeyond the life of the program.
By strengthening incentives and capabilities across the market system, the program aims to drive sustainable sector growth that continues beyond the life of the project.
Impact Targets
By 2030, BeniPoule aims to achieve the following targets:
- $73 million in increased revenues generated by poultry farms and firms
- 15,000 better jobs created or strengthened, 50% benefiting women and youth.
- 95,000 people with improved access to high-quality protein.
- $22.4 million mobilized in sector-wide finance
- $4.47 million leveraged through public and private co-investment
- 11,232 farmers and entrepreneurs adopt improved production and management practices
- 24 market actors transition to more sustainable business models
- 491 businesses obtain food safety certification
Through this market-systems approach, BeniPoule will lay the foundation for a stronger, more inclusive poultry sector that improves food security, creates economic opportunity, and builds long-term resilience in Benin.