Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of The Netherlands
Multi-Annual Country Strategy 2023-2026 Benin.

This Multi-Annual Country Strategy (MACS) outlines the areas of international cooperation in which The Netherlands wishes to collaborate with the Republic of Benin for the period 2023-2026. This document is a condensed version containing the policy priority areas, strategic results and strategic interventions. Where applicable, multilateral and international civil society programmes are included. The resources supporting this strategy are assigned through the annual budget and annual planning cycles. The implementation of this strategy is monitored on a regular basis and adjustments are formalised through subsequent annual plans.

I. Dutch policy goals and strategy with Benin

A. Overarching policy goal

The Netherlands maintain a broad development cooperation relationship with Benin, focusing on multiple themes. Benin belongs to the group of least developed countries that face major challenges in achieving the SDGs and where a broad Dutch commitment to several priority development themes is provided for with a substantial budget. Benin is not only a country where needs are high, but also where conditions exist for effective development cooperation: a dynamic young population, eager to learn and take its future in its own hands, a reform minded government, promoting good governance and combating corruption, an effective dialogue, and alignment of Dutch priorities and expertise to Benin’s ambitions and scale: a country without many donors where Dutch contributions make a difference.
The Netherlands aim at continuing and further developing the excellent bilateral relations with Benin. Equality forms the basis of this partnership. Benin is an important political partner in an unstable region, a partner with whom the Netherlands shares important values, such as respect for human rights, defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the promotion of democracy and socioeconomic development, the need to foster stability in Western Africa and the fight against violent extremism.
Equality and inclusive development, contributing to the realisation of the SDGs, are at the heart of Dutch development cooperation in Benin, focusing on the groups who need our support most. Three transversal themes run like a common thread through all interventions: women’s rights, youth, security (in northern Benin). Good governance fosters the effectiveness of our interventions, but also helps realising other transversal objectives.
The overall vision of the Netherlands in Benin is contributing to an inclusive, sustainable prosperous, democratic society, with a resilient population, in line with Benin’s Programme d’Actions du Gouvernement for 2021-2026 (PAG II). In this programme, the government aims at attacking the mentioned challenges by 1) strengthening democracy and the rule of law and consolidation of good governance, 2) structural transformation of the economy through maintaining macroeconomic stability, acceleration of economic growth and the promotion of quality education and TVET, and 3) improving the well-being of the population through the enhancement of access to basic social services and social protection and strengthening sustainable development.

B. Strategic results per policy goal

Peace, security, and stability
The overall Dutch objective is the strengthening of peace, security and stability in northern Benin. The envisaged strategic result is that in Northern Benin, violent extremist groups/organisations have become less attractive to vulnerable groups, especially youth.
Realising the objective requires the combination of a military/security approach (expelling jihadist groups from the region) with a PVE-strategy, attacking the root causes of radicalisation and violent extremism. The Beninese government invests in both. With a focus on prevention, the Netherlands invests in attacking the root causes of violent extremism, especially poverty, absence of public services and the perceived lack of opportunities to escape from a hopeless situation. We align with government policy and collaborates on the envisaged results with central and local government, with civil society and with the UN-system and other donors.
The Netherlands’ effort in the north of Benin focuses on socio-economic programs that are geared to the local context, mainly with existing budgets (for food security, water and SRHR). Key elements are: (1) increasing the visibility of the state through investments that meet basic needs (water and food security) and contribute to the reduction of multidimensional poverty, (2) investing in the resilience of the (younger) population by increasing their self-determination and confidence in their own future (through education and SRHR), (3) providing perspective through sustainable development and job creation and the promotion of entrepreneurship, and (4) contributing to PVE through providing information, improving information and mechanisms for conflict resolution, combatting human rights violations, and education, leading to changes in beneficiaries’ perception and/or behaviour regarding violent extremist groups/organisations. A collaboration with UNDP, central government and local communities, civil society and NGOs targets the fourth tier. Coordination is provided through the donor PVE group, of which the Netherlands is co-chair.

Sustainable trade and investment

Sustainable trade and investment are important engines for economic and private sector development. Objective is the creation of decent work and economic growth (SDG8), especially for youth and women, contributing to the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequality. Realising this objective requires an enabling business climate, supporting local small and medium enterprises, promoting strong, sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurship and resilient (M)SMEs, and generating employment. More specific objectives include a) strengthening the local business climate, contributing to b) sustainable and inclusive economic development, and c) supporting the local small and medium enterprises and promoting entrepreneurship.

Envisaged results include:

• Digital solutions in place that contribute to an improvement of the business climate
• The port of Cotonou strengthened, allowing an increase in international trade
• Small and medium enterprises, especially in agriculture and fishery, are resilient, have revenues and provide more and decent employment
• Micro-enterprises and SME have been formalised, especially of women and youth
• Linkages between agriculture and trade strengthened
• Benin benefits more from regional trade
• Increased trade and investment between the Netherlands and Benin, especially in agriculture, water and port facilities.
As a small partner in the sector, the Netherlands invests in niches where its value added is high. International banks such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, AFD and KfW as well as the European Union provide the main resources for infrastructure investment. The Netherlands prioritises green jobs and youth entrepreneurship and positions itself by closely collaborating and actively engaging with the private sector and its networks. The Netherlands aims at enhancing effectiveness and impact through targeting local needs, greater coordination and collaboration, and decreasing fragmentation, in order to create sustainable impact.

The Dutch approach in Benin envisages investments with a high Dutch value added, collaborating with RVO and Invest International but also local partners (such as APIEx), benefiting from central (Dutch) instruments such as support to trade facilitation (through the World Bank) and export promotion (through UNCTAD and CBI). We will strengthen the formalisation of enterprises led by women and youth and promote their role in value chains and exports. The Netherlands aims at further strengthening the business environment though its collaboration with UNCTAD and APIEx, the Investment Promotion Agency in Benin. This collaboration includes the development of digital information portals, e-regulation and e-registration and a Digital Single Window for Exports and an Electronic Investment Window, with the objective of attracting foreign direct investment and the facilitation of economic activities in the Special Economic Zone. We will contribute to improved functioning of the Beninese corridors, that are important for landlocked countries in the Sahel, through the Trade Facilitation West-Africa project, implemented by the World Bank. Through these investments, Benin will be in a better position to benefit from regional integration and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). For the Port of Cotonou, one of the three TEI themes, Benin will benefit from the relocation and modernisation of the fishing port, funded by the Netherlands.
An important part of the envisaged results for private sector development will be realised through investment in food security and nutrition (see below). This includes strengthening agricultural and agro-industrial value chains, access to markets and the stimulation of entrepreneurship and employment, both especially prioritising youth and women, and boosting regional trade, especially with Nigeria.

The Embassy will also continue to prioritise economic diplomacy services provided to Dutch SMEs already active or interested in Benin. This includes the active identification of opportunities to involve innovative Dutch companies in the Embassy's programmes in food security, water, and the Port. Together with RVO, the embassy will continue to organise trade missions.
Sustainable development, food security, water, and climate
In line with the challenges in the sector, the priorities of the Netherlands and the Beninese government, the MACS focuses on a) ending hunger and malnutrition (SDG 2.1 and 2.2), b) improving productivity and income of small-scale food producers, especially women and youth (SDG 2.3), c) realising ecologically sustainable food production systems (SDG 2.4 and 2.5), d) sustainable access to safe water (SDG 6), and e) climate resilience of ecosystems and livelihoods (SDG 15).

Envisaged results include:

• consumers have access to healthy, diverse diets
• economic and social resilience of small-scale farmers and SMEs in agricultural value chains, especially for youth and women
• agriculture adapted to climate change
• employment in agriculture created, especially for youth and women
• infrastructure for safe drinking water constructed in urban areas in northern Benin
• regional solutions implemented for IWRM, contributing to sustainable climate change adaptation and safe deltas.
The Beninese government prioritises improvement of the performance of the agricultural sector through reform, improving access to inputs and markets, climate resilience and a strategy for climate-smart agriculture. The authorities also expand the coverage of the national school feeding program to all primary schools across Benin. While several large donors, such as the European Delegation, Germany and France having shifted their role from agriculture to TVET and culture, the government has asked the Netherlands to remain active in agriculture. Where other donors support the government on regular vocational education, the Netherlands supports the large groups of unemployed or underemployed young people, as well as small farmers and SMEs. In addition, the new BHO-programme will focus on strengthening vocational education in agriculture. There will be stronger collaboration within the TEI “Sustainable development and employment for the youth”. Collaboration with local partners will be
enhanced.

In order to contribute to the realisation of the envisaged results, the Netherlands applies a systemic approach, based on a food systems analysis. Such an analysis shows the necessity of solving the main challenges in the sector to ensure sustainable food and nutrition security: low productivity, owing to limited access to fertile land, inputs and markets, lack of training, absence of irrigation, limited creation of value through processing, and lack of information on and access to healthy diets. Due to these challenges, many small-scale farmers, especially women and young people, are not able to earn an income at least at the level of the poverty line. This also contributes to high food insecurity rates: 40% of Beninese have inadequate food consumption and 26% of households (3 million people) are food insecure. Underweight affects one in five children. Climate change further threatens (agricultural) development.

For the MACS 2023-2026, the Netherlands envisages a stronger focus on nutritious food crops (such as vegetables), local markets and the linkages between food production and consumption. Improved nutrition for individuals, especially children and women, entails a) stimulating the demand for quality and nutritious products, b) developing the mainstreaming of nutrition in the various interventions so that the supply of quality nutritious products is sustainably increased, with informed consumers, and c) strengthening the national capacities of public and private organisations playing a key role in nutrition policy or in the supply of quality nutritious products.
Central programmes and delegated activities contribute to the food and nutrition security goals in a complementary way. The Netherlands is already scaling up successful food security projects, while at the same time focusing them more (but not exclusively) on northern provinces. In addition, within these projects, the embassy envisages not only strengthening the role of small farmers and SMEs, of youth and women on the market, but also (further) promoting system change. Focus will be on the market and processing (with more involvement of women and local value added). The Netherlands explores possibilities for continuing support for school feeding, in line with the ambitions of the government to scale up this programme. Continuation of the land rights programme will be with the involvement of other donors.
One of the challenges for the MACS is ensuring the sustainability of the results of the OmiDelta water programme. This is imperative in relation to climate change. Water security is under pressure from economic and population growth, urbanisation, and climate change, endangering (agricultural) development and the conservation of biodiversity. The Netherlands envisages an integrated approach, building on the lessons of the OmiDelta programme. Through Invest International we envisage an investment in northern Benin, providing access to safe drinking water in six unserved (semi-urban) areas. This is a shared priority of the Beninese government and the Netherlands. For IWRM it means a focus on local solutions, contributing to sustainable climate change adaptation and safe deltas. This starts with the implementation of one main findings of the Delta Plan for the Ouemé delta. The rehabilitation of Lake Nokoué and the Porto-Novo, including local NGOs, local organisations women and young people, offers an integrated and balanced mix of ecological, economic, and social development. In addition, the embassy will contribute to the sustainability of IWRM-interventions under the OmiDelta programme through the support to local IWRM institutions (such as the Ministry of Water, INE, ADELAC and local water committees). Other activities include further strengthening of early warning systems, in conjunction with the data collection and management system developed at the national level to make it more effective at the community level.

Social progress

Objectives include extra attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) including HIV/Aids, and strengthening primary health systems, supporting vulnerable groups and eliminating existing inequalities. Specific objectives include: a) better information and greater freedom of choice for young people about their sexuality, b) improved access to SRHR including HIV/Aids services, c) better health care for family planning, pregnancies and childbirth, including safe abortions, and d) the sexual and reproductive rights of all people are respected and protected. Realising these objectives contributes to SDG 3 on good-health and well-being and SDG 5 on gender equality.

Envisaged results include:

• Comprehensive sexuality education reaches all young people and adolescents
• Safe, effective and affordable medicines, commodities, and services provided for family planning, safe abortion, post-abortion care and the cure of sexually transmitted diseases
• Advocacy networks are strengthened to promote SRHR rights for youth and key populations
• Changed perceptions and behaviour on child marriage, teenage pregnancies, child labour, and gender-based violence
• Girls complete at least secondary education
• LGBTIQ+ rights institutionally respected
• Women more empowered and included in decision making.
In Benin, main donors in the health sector are the United States, Gavi, the Global Fund, and the World Bank. Smaller donors are Canada, Belgium and Japan. The Netherlands is a main donor on SRHR, together with Belgium. Dutch SRHR activities in Benin focus on rights and include issues that are often deemed (too) sensitive like comprehensive sexuality education and access to safe abortion. In order to realise the objectives, the Netherlands collaborates with all stakeholders, including government, civil society, religious and traditional leaders, teachers, parents and young people and adolescents. The implementation strategy combines the collaboration with specialised UN Agencies (such as UNICEF and UNFPA) with effective involvement of government and(local) specialised NGOs.
The intervention strategy involves the uniting of all stakeholders on common goals, such as preventing unwanted pregnancies and child marriage, while at the same time discussing and combatting unwanted practices and behaviour. These practices are driven by several causes, rooted in unfavourable social norms on gender, and poverty. The approach pays off. During the past years, the political climate regarding SRHR has improved significantly in Benin: the government approved the curriculum for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and a new law on reproductive health, which broadens access to safe abortion. Within this context, the Netherlands aims at using the momentum and keeping a clear focus on SRHR with a scaling up of CSE and with explicit support to strengthen the system to prepare for a broad implementation of the new law on safe abortion. This includes strengthening training capacity for midwives, obstetricians, and gynaecologists. An effective instrument, realising many objectives, is ensuring that girls complete secondary education. This reduces child marriage, unwanted pregnancies, empowers women, fosters human rights, and has large economic benefits. The Netherlands supports this through a combination of cash transfers with specific care at school level. The cash transfer component, provided to the mothers, also contributes to the empowerment of women.
Interventions on SRHR are intrinsically linked to the rights approach, which is an essential principle of Dutch foreign policy. Through specific activities and funding, support to civil society organisations, lobbying, and dialogue, the Netherlands contributes to the complete eradication of female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, gender-based violence and to the promotion and protection of LGBTIQ+ rights. The Embassy participates in the work of the PTFs network on human rights in collaboration with the EU Delegation in Benin and other donors. A project co-funded with the EU and implemented by the national independent NIMD branch supports more inclusive participation, especially by women and young people, in political parties. At local level the Netherlands promotes participatory democracy, transparency, accountability, and the fight against corruption at local level.

II. Crosscutting priorities

Gender

All interventions, and especially those carried out within the framework of our SRHR and food security, contribute to the promotion of gender equality, especially focussing on women’s rights. The embassy is an active promotor of women’s rights, in nearly every speech, as the organiser of meetings and the creation of platforms for women’s rights. The MACS envisages a scaling up of the activities in this area, not only aided by Dutch priorities, but also by active support from the government, and especially the vice-president. The embassy is engaged in the national policy for the promotion of gender-equality in Benin and in the policy on gender-based violence. Another project promotes the leadership of women in local politics. Empowerment of women, through the creation of employment, training, coaching, access to finance, inputs, and markets, strengthening the role of women in processing and cooperatives is a key element in the food security programme. Targets, who are often surpassed, require that at least 50% of the beneficiaries will be women. They will be the main beneficiaries of a new drinking waterproject in Northern Benin. As mentioned, a large programme, providing unconditional cash transfers to mothers, and thus empowering women, enables young women to complete secondary education. Interventions include a gender context analysis, as well as monitoring on and evaluation of targets.

Youth

Just like women, young people are key in all Dutch activities in Benin. A young population involves a demographic dividend, but only if the same young people can find a decent living. The Netherlands prioritises the strengthening of the political and socioeconomic rights of youth. The embassy creates platforms, promotes the development of youth networks, organises regular meetings with youth representatives and supports youth-led initiatives, particularly for youth entrepreneurs and youth community leaders. SRHR and food security projects have youth targets if relevant or exclusively focus on youth, to level the playing field. We maximise impact by scaling up successful efforts aimed at creating decent employment and increasing income for young people. Initiatives will offer youth opportunities for decent work that deliver better prospects for personal development, is productive, and offers a stable income, social protection and safe working conditions. The SRHR programme ensures that youth receive appropriate information. No less important, these activities contribute to their autonomy and resilience. The embassy would welcome an Include conference on Youth. This conference was cancelled because of COVID.

Climate

Benin has developed an impressive plan, including the National Climate Change Management Policy and the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, but there is a large funding gap, despite support by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund. Total funding for adaptation is estimated at USD 4.24 billion. In addition, the country has a large financial gap for biodiversity conservation; less than 10% of its conservation needs being met. Another challenge is the weak capacity within government structures.
In the MACS 2023-2026, the Netherlands promotes the concept of climate-resilient development pathways, focusing on climate resilience, but including climate mitigation where possible. Dutch interventions are based on the principles for locally led adaptation action, including investing in local capabilities, decision making at the lowest appropriate level, based on a robust understanding of climate change risk and uncertainty, allowing context-specific solutions. This starts with the promotion of climate smart agriculture (climate resilient crops, irrigation, innovation and training).
The Netherlands will invest more in the nexus between FNS and integrated water resource management, i.e. improved irrigation, and protection against flooding, reducing ongoing agricultural land degradation trends, restoring already degraded ecosystems. Ensuring the sustainability of results on IWRM, especially to ensure climate resilience, capitalising on the experience of the OmiDelta IWRM programme, has already been mentioned. In the field of energy, the Netherlands contributes to the funding of the Endev project for the construction of renewable energy infrastructure (TEI 2).

The Embassy in Cotonou promotes the Dutch participation in the regional project in the W-Arly-Pendjari region in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin, contributing to climate and biodiversity objectives for this complex. The project promotes endogenous, sustainable, and inclusive economic development to reduce pressure on the protected areas and to respond to the challenges of climate change in the region. It aims at preserving the biodiversity of the parcs and alleviating the poverty of the local population, which is to be involved in the management of the protected areas and obtain economic benefits as a result. Through its approach, which includes raising enhancing output, raising income, and the creation of employment in agriculture, the project attacks root causes of violent extremism and contributing to the reduction of poverty and sustainable development in a vulnerable region.
Conflict-sensitive
Multidimensional poverty, inequality, lack of economic prospects, feelings of abandonment, frustration and radicalisation and growing insecurity are arguments for the Netherlands to focus its interventions (especially in food security, water and SRHR) more on the northern region of Benin. As already mentioned in the paragraph on security and stability, key elements in the approach are: (1) providing basic needs, (2) investing in the resilience of the (younger) population by increasing their self-determination and confidence in their own future, (3) providing perspective through the creation of sustainable employment in the agricultural sector and (4) contributing to PVE. Main food security programmes are already or will be scaled up in northern Benin. A new drinking water project will provide drinking water in unserved areas in Northern Benin such as Karimama. The programmes will collaborate with a PVE-project that aims at fostering changes in perception and/or behaviour regarding violent extremist groups/organisations.

Opportunities to enhance impact The Netherlands enhances impact through:

• Ownership: the Dutch programme is well aligned to the government programme, the PAG 2021-2026, as well as to priorities of other stakeholders. The priorities for the new MACS have been discussed with government, NGOs, civil society, women’s organisations, and youth.
• Localisation: development of new activities in collaboration with (local) implementing partners and beneficiaries, prioritising local implementers.
• Focus on the groups who need our support most, i.e. the poorest groups, women, youth, northern provinces.
• To enhance effectiveness and impact, the Netherlands combines programme implementation with a constructive political dialogue and discussions with involved ministries.
• Scaling up of activities who have proven to be effective.
• Coordination and collaboration with other partners: Team Europe, as (co-)chair or key member of donor groups.
• Sustainability of results: promoting systemic change.
• Flexibility: ensuring flexibility in implementation through the reduction of budget lines, allowing budgets for innovation and a flexible attitude.
• Digitalisation: The Netherlands fosters digital solutions in food security, providing information to small farmers and SMEs in food processing, early warning systems in the water sector, the use of digital information portals and digital windows for export promotion, and SRHR, mainly through providing information through social media.
Special attention is on creating synergy: within and between sectors, promoting collaboration between implementing partners. Regular joint meetings at the embassy foster collaboration and the creation of synergy. As has been mentioned before, key in the Dutch programme for Benin is a 4-tier approach, recognising that challenges and opportunities are linked:
• The water project as well as specific SRHR interventions contribute to the effectiveness of nutrition interventions, while nutrition projects promote hygiene. School feeding and the promotion of menstrual health & hygiene enhance school attendance.
• Activities in FNS promote PSD and employment, while producers in the agricultural sector benefit from improvement of the business climate through simplification of regulations, trade facilitation and the promotion of Dutch investments.
• FNS projects promote climate resilient agriculture as well as approaches and crops with a low ecological footprint, and effective water resource management. In addition, new projects will include an explicit assessment of the impact on biodiversity.
• IWRM-activities, including irrigation, stimulate agricultural productivity, income for farmers, reduce malnutrition and contribute to climate adaption and the preservation of biodiversity.
• Training in entrepreneurship (in agriculture) of (young) women who participated in SRHR programmes contribute to the empowerment of women.
• Interventions in Northern Benin (especially FNS) attack root causes of frustration and radicalisation. Collaboration of PVE activities with other projects (FNS, water and SRHR) contributes to the effectiveness and sustainability of all interventions in Northern Benin.
• The regional programme for the WAP-region creates employment in agriculture, reduces poverty and food insecurity, promotes the preservation of the biodiversity in the parcs, and attacks the root causes of violent extremism.
III. Learning
For a large part, the new programme consists of the scaling up of ongoing activities, based on rigorous evaluations and other studies. Rigorous evaluations provide insight into progress towards defined objectives (at outcome and impact level. During the implementation of the MACS 2019-2022, the Netherlands has scaled up evaluation, requiring more rigour. Examples are the evaluations of the promotion of SRHR, Benibiz, ACMA, and OmiDelta. New projects include larger evaluation budgets, allowing more rigorous evaluation.

For FNS, the Netherlands financially supported the Global Analysis of Vulnerability, Food and Nutrition Security. While the draft is available, it needs further elaboration to be more analytic to enable a thorough understanding of the FNS situation in Benin. Results will impact the implementation of ongoing programmes as well as the design of new interventions. What is needed is a rigorous analysis of the feasibility in Benin to create systemic impact in FNS through stronger involvement of the private sector in interventions.
Awaiting the results of the ongoing evaluation of the OmiDelta Water programme, the Netherlands has already drafted a capitalisation document of 20 Years of activity in the water sector. The new drinking water project in northern Benin benefits from the large experience of the implementing organisation in the sector. The ongoing feasibility study and strategic environmental assessment (ESS) for the development and rehabilitation of Lake Nokoué and the Porto-Novo lagoon will be finalised in 2023, leading to the project implementation through DRIVE.
UNICEF and the World Bank, financially supported by the Netherlands, provided evidence on the positive social and economic impact of secondary education for girls in Benin. The ongoing and scaled up Cash plus Care project builds on the results of these studies. A rigorous evaluation is planned. More empirical information is needed on child abuse, including child marriages, early and unplanned pregnancies, child labour and violence against women.

Contact addresses:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Rijnstraat 8 2515 XP Den Haag, the Netherlands. Sub-Saharan Africa Department (DAF) P.O. Box 08 BP

Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to Benin
Avenue Jean-Paul II
0783 Cotonou
Benin DAF@minbuza.nl
COT@minbuza.nl