Tinba is a cooperative of sesame smallholder farmers created in 2000 that operates in eastern Burkina Faso. With USADF support, Tinba is today recognized as one of the strongest players in the sesame value chain. The organization is currently one of the largest sesame producers’ organizations in Burkina Faso, with nearly 5,100 members, including 1,325 women.
Tinba’s sales on the export market evolved from 677,994 kg in 2018 to 800,000 kg in 2019 and 1,094,000 kg in 2020. Tinba regularly works with banks and microfinance institutions to mobilize working capital for inputs and sesame collection. For the 2019-2020 season, Tinba mobilized the equivalent of US$ 852,000 in working capital.
Tinba’s network of farmers switched from cotton production to sesame production because sesame is easier to cultivate and requires less spending on inputs. Above all, the farmers wanted to take advantage of sesame’s robust market opportunities. From 2010 -2012, USADF provided grant funding to Tinba to better structure the organization and improve its management capabilities, resulting in a more than 100% increase in yield, from 350 kg/ha to 750 kg/ha, on average. In 2013 USADF awarded Tinba an expansion grant for it to increase its storage capacity and collection and distribution systems, enabling more farmers to access training and production and post-harvest equipment.
The cooperative’s president, who also leads the National Umbrella Organization of Sesame Producers and the Interprofessional National Board, recently stated, “USADF has helped Tinba lay down the layers for community-based enterprise growth and expansion, and these have both consolidated jobs and revenues in the communities across the eastern region.”