The scent of the New Year is on the front page of the daily newspapers published this Thursday, January 2, 2025.
With The Nation, tuned to the tempo of the head of state. End of year party: when Patrice Talon takes a popular break, headlines the public service daily. Who also recognizes that President Talon grants himself few extras. But it surprised more than one on this register at the end of the year, my colleagues admit.
By deviating from this rule with unexpected outings, a popular Break. The informant also stays stuck to the subject and finds Patrice Talon among the common people. In an eclectic approach, the daily on its front page takes stock of the last 72 hours of the President of the Republic with his lunch at the Dessa military camp, the detour to the Ganhi market and the trip to the Place de l’Amazone for the atmosphere with young people.
In the wake of the Head of State, the newspaper The 4 Truths finds the President of the National Assembly alongside the Catholic faithful on New Year’s Eve. My colleagues report that Louis Vlavonou prayed for a Benin of peace in 2025. Dabarou echoes the wishes of the president of the Haac for the new year. The daily headlines say that Edouard Loko reaffirms Haac’s attachment to press freedom.
Free Morning is rather part of a retrospective posture and asks the headline Who is who? The daily presents us with photos of those who made 2024. Around Patrice Talon, we find the former presidents Nicéphore Soglo, Boni Yayi, the Mayor of Cotonou, Luc Atrokpo, Louis Vlavonou, the ministers Bénoît Dato, Adambi des mines, the ex minister Oswald Homeky and friend, Olivier Boko, Eric Houndété and Reckya Madougou.
Still talking about the end of the year 2024, The Morning returns, for its part, behind the scenes. And reveals in the headlines how the government saved the populations. Akpakpa Dandji’s daily life refers to the quality of foodstuffs marketed at the end of the year in Benin. The 4 Truths go further back in the year 2024. The newspaper measures the impact of PAG actions in the agricultural sectors in Benin and highlights that the production rate has been increased in all agricultural sectors. The newspaper specifies that from less than 1.3 million tonnes in 2016, corn production increased to 1.8 million tonnes in 2023, an improvement of 34%. Regarding soybeans, from 140,000 tonnes in 2016, production reached more than 422,000 tonnes in 2022, i.e. 3 times the previous level.
Cashew nut production experienced the same improvement. From 91,000 tonnes without subsidies for plants before 2016, production increased to 187,000 tonnes in 2023, with an increased yield of 34% and production increased by 105%.
From 269,000 tonnes in 2015, average cotton production has stood at 641,000 tonnes since 2016, an increase of almost 2.5 times. Production peaked at 766,273 tonnes in 2021, making Benin the leading African producer since 2019, with the ambition of reaching 1 million tonnes in the short term.
This picture is, however, clouded by the new hydrocarbon scale in Benin. The Morning tells us that there is a new increase in fuel prices at the pump. The 4 Truths speak of a slight increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel occurring from January 1, 2025. In detail, we note, according to my colleagues, that the liter of gasoline increases to 695 francs compared to 680 and diesel increases to 720 CFA francs per liter.
Modest Donkpegan
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