Bulletin <strong>de</strong> la Recherche Agronomique du Bénin Numéro 69 – Juin 2011cope with this situation, they often refer to parents and friends to borrow lands. But, as noticed byMutangadura et al. (1999), the lands they are given are most of the time marginal lands. In addition,Bia<strong>ou</strong> (1996) emphasized that land borrowing as land tenure system is not secure for the borrower,because the land owner can end the contract at any time, especially if he/she gets a betterarrangement (lease or sharecropping systems for example) from someone else. In that case, sale offarm land to borrow from others later is not an efficient and sustainable option for affected h<strong>ou</strong>seholds.Unlike to the study of Haddad and Gillespie (2001), this study did not show an explicit abandonment ofgood farming practices. Also, it was observed that affected h<strong>ou</strong>seholds were likely to diversify theiractivities. They seem to <strong>de</strong>velop a greater interest for livestock production. Another kind of strategyobserved by Gebresselasie (2008) in Ethiopia is the ten<strong>de</strong>ncy of the remaining active members of theaffected h<strong>ou</strong>sehold to work on others’ farms as laborers in or<strong>de</strong>r to get income and supply to theneeds of their h<strong>ou</strong>seholds.CONCLUSIONHIV pan<strong>de</strong>mic represents nowadays a significant challenge for the <strong>de</strong>velopment, because of itsseri<strong>ou</strong>s effects on all livelihoods assets. In rural zones, it affects h<strong>ou</strong>sehold’s available labor, farmedland, yields and income. To mitigate these effects, the affected h<strong>ou</strong>seholds did not remain passive.They <strong>de</strong>veloped vari<strong>ou</strong>s local responses in or<strong>de</strong>r to enhance their farming system and cope with thenew situation. Some of the adjustments they <strong>de</strong>veloped weere: the social reorganization of the farmwork, the rec<strong>ou</strong>rse to hired labor, the favor of home gar<strong>de</strong>ns, the diversification of the activities with afocus on livestock production and the borrowing of farm land. Alth<strong>ou</strong>gh these local responses enablethe affected h<strong>ou</strong>seholds to cope with the situation, they are not actually effective. So, the affectedh<strong>ou</strong>seholds continue to face <strong>de</strong>creasing agricultural production and income. Then, it is necessary toi<strong>de</strong>ntify or <strong>de</strong>velop more appropriate and efficient alternatives, in or<strong>de</strong>r to help these h<strong>ou</strong>seholds toreach sustainable livelihoods. 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