Burkina Faso is currently one of the top sesame producers in the world, but lack of organization and low quality crops have inhibited the sesame sector from reaching its full potential. Through this project, the operational capacities of sesame processors are being strengthened in order to increase the amount and value of exports. Sesame producers and processors are being trained in areas including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), quality standards, and best hygiene practices. The project also helps sesame exporters to develop improved export strategies through training and study visits to other sesame producing countries. The project strongly emphasizes the employment of female farmers, who represent 40% of the sector.

 Results:

 Annual sesame production rose from 137,347 tons in 2013 to 321,837 tons in 2015, and an increase in yield per hectare from 521 kg/ha in 2012 to 600 kg/ha on average between 2013 and 2015.

• Sesame exports totalled 113,093 tons in 2013/2014, a 16% increase from 2012/2013, and the value of sesame exports totalled 79.6 billion CFA Francs (approximately US$175 million) in 2013/2014, a 77% increase from 2012/2013.
• Two 100 ton capacity warehouses were built (one in Léo and one in Dédougou).
• To support better organization of actors in the sesame value chain, an industry organization was established, and the first general meeting was held in September 2015.

• 100 sesame processing units were trained in Good Hygiene Practices through seminars in four different regions in June and July 2015. 100 women participated in these trainings.
• 9 sesame producers participated in a study tour to Ethiopia in October 2015 to learn about good agricultural and harvest practices. 5 actors from the sesame value chain also visited Addis Ababa in November 2015 to participate in an international forum on the commercialization of sesame.
• 3 sesame processors participated in a trade fair in Cotonou, Benin in 2015.
• 30 inspectors (including 6 women) from the Direction de la Protection des Végétaux et du Conditionnement (DPVC) were trained on SPS and quality standards in Koudougou in November 2015.

• 20 exporters were trained on risk management and the International Commercial Terms rules (Incoterms 2010) in November 2015.
• 16 exporters (including 3 women) and 4 women processors participated in a workshop about trade fairs and the legal aspects of international trade in June 2015 in Ouagadougou. 5 of these exporters subsequently participated in the Taipei International Food Processing & Pharmaceutical Machinery Show, where they established contacts and held several business meetings.
• 20 exporters were trained in financing for export and international payment modes in October 2015.
• Five sesame exporting companies participated in the first International Fair of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia in June 2014 (http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article59796). This fair provided a platform for the Burkina Faso sesame operators to explore market opportunities and develop business relationships with Saudi economic operators as well as with 17 participating countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Gulf.