Kandi is a town, arrondissement

Arrondissements of Benin

The Arrondissements of Benin refer to the third-level administrative units of Benin, after Departments and communes. In turn they contain villages and may often have several quartiers or city districts/urban neighborhoods:...

 and commune

Communes of Benin

The departments of Benin are subdivided into 77 communes, which in turn are divided into arrondissements and finally into villages or city districts. Prior to 1999 provinces were broken down into 84 districts, titled either urban or rural...

 in the Alibori Department

Alibori Department

Alibori is the largest and northernmost départements of Benin, with an area of 25,683 km² and a population of 355,950 . The department is subdivided into 6 communes, each centered at one of the principal towns: Banikoara, Gogounou, Kandi, Karimama, Malanville, and Ségbana. The department borders...

 of eastern Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

. Originally a market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

, Kandi is now primarily a farming centre. It lies on the nation's main north-south highway, 650 km from Cotonou and 325 miles (523 km) north of Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo is the official capital of the West African nation of Benin, and was the capital of French Dahomey. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.Porto-Novo is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion...

. The town is the capital of the department of Alibori. The commune covers an area of 3421 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 95,206 people.The town itself had a population of 27,227 in 2002.

History

Kandi was founded by the Dendi Kingdom

Dendi Kingdom

The Dendi Kingdom was a pre-colonial West African state in modern-day Niger founded by the Songhai people after the collapse of their empire Songhai.-The Rise & Fall of Gao:...

, an offshoot of the Songhai Empire

Songhai Empire

The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...

. The surrounded villages are Mokole Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

, who fled the wars of the foundation of the Oyo Kingdom. The surrounding countryside is Bariba

Bariba

The Bariba people, self designation Baatonu , are the principal inhabitants of Borgou Department, Benin, and cofounders of the Borgu kingdom of what is now northeast Benin and northwest Nigeria. There are perhaps a million Bariba, 80% of them in Benin, where they are the fourth largest ethnic group...

.

Geography

The commune of Kandi is located 650 kilometres from Cotonou

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

. Communally it is bounded to the north by Malanville

Malanville

Malanville is a city, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin, located across the River Niger from Niger. It is known as a centre of cross-border trade and has a major market. Malanville is also a centre for rice-growing. The commune covers an area of 3016 square...

, south by Gogounou

Gogounou

Gogounou is a town, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of Benin, about 35 kilometres south of Kandi. The commune covers an area of 4910 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 80,013 people.-Geography:...

 , west by Banikoara

Banikoara

Banikoara is a town, arrondissement and commune located in the Alibori Department of Benin. It lies 69 kilometers west of Kandi at the heart of the most productive cotton-growing region in Benin...

 and to the east with Ségbana

Ségbana

Ségbana is a town, arrondissement and commune located in the Alibori Department of Benin.The commune covers an area of 4471 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 52,639 people.-Geography:...

.

Administrative divisions

Kandi is subdivided into 10 arrondissements; Kandi I

Kandi I

Kandi I is an arrondissement of the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi and forms part of the area of the city itself. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin...

, Kandi II

Kandi II

Kandi II is an arrondissement of the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi and forms part of the area of the city itself. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin...

, Kandi III

Kandi III

Kandi III is an arrondissement of the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi and forms part of the area of the city itself. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique...

, Angaradébou

Angaradébou

Angaradébou is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the...

, Bensékou

Bensékou

Bensékou is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the...

 , Donwari

Donwari

Donwari is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the...

, Kassakou

Kassakou

Kassakou or Kassako is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi...

, Saah

Saah

Saah or Saa is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the...

, Sam

Sam, Benin

Sam is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the arrondissement...

 and Sonsoro

Sonsoro

Sonsoro is a town and arrondissement in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Kandi, and is located about 20 kilometres southwest of the main communal town...

. They contain 39 villages and 9 urban districts.

Economy

Most of the population are engaged in agricultural activities followed by trade, transportation and handicrafts. The main crops grown are maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, kapok

Kapok

Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae , native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and to tropical west Africa...

, millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

 and peanuts

Peanuts

Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...

.There are notable iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 deposits of high quality in the vicinity.

Transport

The town is situated on the RNIE 2

RNIE 2

RNIE 2 is a national highway of Benin. It is Benin's main north-south highway which runs the entire 785 km down the centre of the country from the Niger River to Cotonou. The RNIE 2 crosses the RNIE 4 at Bohicon east of Abomey.-External links:*...

 highway and is served by Kandi Airport

Kandi Airport

Kandi Airport is an airport serving Kandi in Benin....

, which is located north of the main town.