Determinants of agro-pastoralists' access to water reservoirs in Benin

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the factors influencing access to water reservoirs among 428 agro-pastoralists in Northern and Central Benin. These reservoirs, characterized by their dry-season durability and multiple uses (agriculture, livestock, aquaculture), are essential for resilience to climate change. Three composite indices (access, availability, management) were developed and incorporated into ordinal logistic regression models. Results indicate actor-specific determinants of access levels (low, moderate, high). Water availability and the quality of water management are key drivers, with heterogeneous effects across groups. Socioeconomic and organizational factors likewise influence each sector differently. Overall, farmers face higher access thresholds than herders and fish farmers, although the results for fish farmers are based on smaller sample sizes than those of the other two groups, indicating heightened structural vulnerability. The observed disparities show that uniform management strategies are insufficient and call for targeted, actor-specific interventions to ensure sustainable and equitable water governance in climate-vulnerable contexts. The novelty of this study lies in combining validated composite indices with a sector-differentiated, threshold-based analysis, which provides a replicable framework for diagnosing structural inequalities in reservoir water access beyond purely descriptive approaches.