From February to mid-March 2019, the programme facilitated orientation and training sessions for 55 kebeles (28 from Amhara and 27 from Tigray).

“The Ethiopian delegation learned a lot about sesame production enhancing techniques, methods for providing training and public services and alternative forms of financing farmers. These are definitely the three biggest challenges Ethiopia faces.” Florentine Dirks, agro-economist https://www.wur.nl/en/Research-Results/Research-Institutes/centre-for-development-innovation/show-cdi/Successful-knowledge-exchange-organised-by-Ethiopian-Sesame-Business-Network.htm

The Sesame Business Network aims to change the sesame sector in Ethiopia. “Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation has contributed to a change in culture, towards a more inclusive approach that puts farmers first”, says Assistant Manager Anteneh Mekuria. https://www.wur.nl/en/testimonial/Together-we-adopt-a-more-inclusive-way-of-doing-agribusiness.htm

“What we have not done is still greater than what we have done thus far. We need to further work together to bring change in the sesame sector.” Fiseha Bezabih, Deputy Director of Tigray Agriculture Bureau. “There is still a lot in the plate for 2019. There is a potential for high performance of the sector.” Ted Schrader- Benefit-SBN project

From the 18th – 20th of October 2018, Benefit-SBN in collaboration with Ardaita College, Federal, and Regional Cooperative Promotion Agency Bureaus and GIZ organised training on cooperative marketing and financial accounting for 82 employees from selected cooperatives and Cooperative Promotion Offices, at Gondar and Humera towns.

Putting staked sesame (commonly called as hillas in Amharic) upright for drying (see the picture),  will help reduce the post-harvest losses, the labour cost, and contributes to improving the quality of sesame.