Understanding how local stakeholders participate in designing and implementing development projects is important to improve their effectiveness. This study used three case studies of privatisation reform of agricultural research and extension in Benin, to analyse recent trends in the participation of farmers, public and private organisations in implementing and designing reforms. Thematic and comparative analyses were performed on qualitative data collected during direct observation and semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders. The finding indicated that although participation was generally considered as requirement for developing high quality services, its importance in designing appropriate service delivery and funding reforms was underestimated or ignored.