Sesame is no longer content to occupy a marginal place in Senegalese agriculture. In Mbour, stakeholders in the sector took advantage of the official launch of a structuring project to send a clear message to public authorities: without appropriate equipment, the momentum that has been set in motion risks running into persistent bottlenecks.
A plea at the heart of the VACS project launch
It was on the occasion of the official launch of the project entitled “Strengthening the sesame value chain in Senegal through rural transformation, innovation and inclusive market development” — designated under the acronym VACS 2026-2027 — that producers and researchers put forward their request for support. The meeting, held on Friday in Mbour (western Senegal), brought together the various stakeholders around a shared observation: the crop is now “essential,” to use their own terms, but the sector suffers from a glaring shortage of harvesting and post-harvest equipment.
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The VACS 2026-2027 project, whose name covers the period 2026-2027, aims according to its promoters to strengthen rural transformation and foster inclusive market development. It is part of a local value-addition logic that goes beyond the simple stage of primary production.
Equipment, the key to success
The lack of equipment remains the most frequently cited structural obstacle in African oilseed sectors. For sesame, harvesting is particularly delicate: the plant must be cut before full maturity to prevent the capsules from bursting and scattering the seeds. Without appropriate equipment, post-harvest losses can be considerable, reducing profitability for farmers, who are often smallholders.
The researchers present in Mbour supported this diagnosis, emphasizing that varietal and agronomic innovation cannot fully produce its effects if the downstream links — sorting, drying, hulling, packaging — remain under-equipped. The request addressed to the State therefore concerns targeted intervention in these segments, where added value is both created and lost.
A sector with strong potential, but still fragile
Sesame is attracting growing interest across the continent, driven by sustained international demand — particularly from Asia and the Middle East — and by the nutritional properties of the seed. Several West African countries have already made efforts to structure their sector and capture a share of this revenue. Senegal, by launching the VACS project, signals its willingness not to be left on the sidelines of this regional dynamic.
However, the road ahead is still long. Local transformation, explicitly targeted by the project, requires not only equipment but also structured commercial outlets, compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards, as well as a sufficiently robust organization of stakeholders to carry weight in negotiations with buyers. These dimensions — financing, professional organization, access to export markets — were not detailed in the information available at this stage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VACS 2026-2027 project?
It is the project “Strengthening the sesame value chain in Senegal through rural transformation, innovation and inclusive market development,” officially launched in Mbour. It aims to improve the transformation of sesame in rural areas and to structure markets over the period 2026-2027.
Why is post-harvest equipment so important for sesame?
The sesame seed is very sensitive to the post-harvest phase: without appropriate drying, sorting and packaging equipment, losses can be significant and the quality of the marketed product can be degraded. It is at this stage that a large share of added value is determined.
What concrete follow-up can be expected from this plea?
The request was made publicly at an official event, which gives it political visibility. However, no response from the State nor any quantified commitment has been reported at this stage. Stakeholders in the sector will need to monitor the budgetary translation of these announcements.
Source: APS (Agence de Presse Sénégalaise), June 2025
