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Intensifying inland valley systems will require the promotion of high value commodity chainsystem involving rice and vegetable with increased productivity and low per unit cost ofproduction and natural resources. The objective aim to identify the current production systemsassesses their constraints and analyzes the profitability of best bet rice and vegetable croppingsystems under different levels of input use and access to market. A total of 235 producersselected in Benin and Mali according to input use and access to product market. The value chainapproach used to analyze the performance associated with productivity. The results show thatfour main chain stakeholders operate in the inland valley: producers, processors, trader andconsumers. This study specifically focuses on producers and major constraints reported by thisgroup are attacks of the insects and birds, the poor access to products markets and theunavailability of key inputs (seeds, pesticides, small equipment,) in both countries. Otherconstraints are high costs of transport, post-harvest losses and poor conservation of freshvegetables and tubers.The most profitable systems in the inland valley are the ones based on rice and vegetable(Gboma: Solanum sp) using improved seeds, follow-up of the system containing rice and`'gboma'' using improved varieties of rice like NERICA associated with chemical fertilizers andherbicides. Rice associated with improved varieties of potato and mineral fertilizers is moreprofitable in Mali. Rice as sole crop is not profitable in both countries. Women are moreinvolved in the sole cropping of rice in Mali.
