Benin

The Chili Pepper Pilot Project (Projet Pilote Piment - PPP) is designed to increase chili pepper productivity and improve farmers’ access to markets in Cotonou and across the region through a structured, ready-to-use model aligned with government and donor platforms. It focuses on promoting good farming practices, securing input supply and buyer agreements, and linking producers to financing. By combining demonstration plots with market coordination and partnerships, the project aims to boost yields, stabilize cooperative sales, and generate scalable lessons that can be adopted more broadly by the local government and other development partners.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress PROFIT Project increases agricultural productivity for hot peppers, cassava, and okra by strengthening the capacity of 25,000 farmers, producer organizations (POs), processors and other private entities, while improving food security and the use of climate-smart agricultural practices. It also expands trade of these crops by increasing their quality to meet international standards and connecting farmers and POs with local and international buyers. Lutheran World Relief implements the project in collaboration with CRS, OADEL, RAFIA, GRED, and ODIAE in Togo’s Plateaux, Kara and Savanes regions.  

The project will strengthen the capacity of research and government institutions to address critical horticulture priorities such as revenue-based solutions, food safety, and informational campaigns. It will also train 25,000 value chain actors in improved horticultural climate-smart agriculture techniques, service provision, cooperative and nursery management, seed selection, and cassava cutting utilizing the Farmer Field School (FFS) methodology supplemented by digital platforms and radio to disseminate improved agricultural production techniques. Finance options will be facilitated to benefit 21,000 farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), such as Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) groups, microfinance institution (MFIs) and bank lending, and in-kind matching grants (15000 loans for $4 995 000). PROFIT will also promote buyer-seller relationships through the following means: use market assessments and formalization through fair and timely sales contracts, establish Producer Enterprise Agents (PEAs) to facilitate market linkages, train on post-harvest handling. processing, and food safety standards.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food for  Progress Program, TRACE is a five-year project that improves Nigeria's cocoa productivity through climate-smart agriculture and expands its traceability for stronger marketability. In partnership with the federal and state governments of Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ecometrica, and C-Lever.org, Lutheran World Relief implements TRACE in Nigeria's cocoa-producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ekiti, Ondo, and Osun States. By the end of the project, over 51,000 smallholder farmers will be trained, resulting in a doubling of cocoa productivity and establishing a comprehensive (farm-to-export) traceability system that meets global standards. More than 68,400 farmers will gain access to markets, and over 366,000 hectares of farmland will be under improved climate risk reduction and/or natural resource management practices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food for Progress Sesame Marketing and Exports (SesaME) Project, led by Lutheran World Relief, worked with farmers, cooperatives, and buyers to improve sesame quality and farmers’ access to lucrative export markets. Operating in the Sourou and Bankui (formerly Boucle du Mouhoun), Goulmou, Tapoa and Sirba (formerly Est), Tannounyan (formerly Cascades) and Guiriko (formerly Hauts-Bassins) regions, the project trained smallholder farmers in sustainable sesame production, post-harvest handling, and storage. Farmers also gained business skills, access to credit, stronger buyer connections, and knowledge of trade regulations. LWR leveraged ICT-enabled platforms to enhance information flow, streamline processes, and strengthen producer-buyer relationships. LWR’s innovative Producer Enterprise Agent (PEA) model delivered training directly to 479 cooperative members, improving production and marketing practices. LWR also trained over 273 producer organizations on improved organizational, managerial, and marketing policies and. Since 2016, the project has reached over 490,000 individuals, with 138,000+ hectares now cultivated using resilient practices. Farmers supported by LWR have sold 166,354 metric tons of high-quality sesame, valued at $243 million—up from just $2.8 million in 2016.