In Benin, yam is an important food crop. Nowadays, intensification of this food crop face several constraints as lack of virgin land and fertile soil. The present study aims to characterize yam cropping systems in the centre, northeastern and northwestern of Benin that deal with deforestation and the soil degradation due to extensive yam production. Socioeconomic characteristics of the yam producers, and the types of cropping system were assessed from 351 yam producers (114 in the centre, 121 in the NorthEast