Surveys show prospects exist for cassava flour, grain, fruit and vegetable production. The agricultural reform program makes provisions for widespread privatization, for increases in credits to farmers, and for improvement in rural living conditions. The CFA devaluation has strongly encouraged the consumption of local products and should help stimulate the agricultural sector. Deforestation remains an alarming problem. Fishing activities are conducted on a small scale, and the sector is dominated by individual fishermen who practice traditional fishing techniques.
Fish represents a large portion of the Beninese diet.
For the past thirty years, industrial development has been limited and principally geared toward light industry, although important investment has recently been made in heavy industrial units. Major manufactured products include textiles, cement, soap, beverages and food products. Competition from neighboring Nigeria is strong. The government aims to reinforce the private sector and to withdraw the state's participation in the industrial sector progressively. A large number of state-enterprises generating low profit or functioning below their capacity have been privatized or liquidated.