Research on the impact of smallholder contract-farming largely focuses on exportoriented high-value commodities. Little is known about the possibility of contract-farming for upgrading in staple food chains. While theoretical insights predict contract-farming to be infeasible for lower-value staple food crops, empirical evidence from such sectors is extremely scarce. In this paper, we provide evidence on smallholder contract-farming in the rice sector in Benin. We use cross-sectional household data and propensity score matching methods to analyze the impact of contract-farming on selected farm performance indicators. The findings indicate that contract-farming has a positive impact on rice productivity and income.