In support of Ghana’s export promotion agenda and the development of underutilized agricultural commodities with high export potential, GIRSAL has launched the Sesame Pilot Project as part of its Agricultural Value Chain Development Initiative. The ongoing trial at Ziope in the Volta Region represents a strategic effort to diversify the country’s Agri-export, increase foreign exchange earnings, and create sustainable livelihoods for large, medium, and smallholder farmers.
The project forms part of GIRSAL’s five-year strategy to increase exports and reduce import dependency by using its credit risk guarantee instrument to stimulate private investment in agriculture. The sesame pilot reflects GIRSAL’s broader goal of de-risking promising but underdeveloped agricultural value chains and transforming them into commercially viable sectors that attract financing and support inclusive growth.
Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is a high-value oilseed crop widely cultivated in countries such as India, Myanmar, China, Sudan, and Tanzania. In recent years, it has become increasingly important in global trade, with Africa accounting for more than 40% of the world’s total production.
Source: ITC Trademap
Within the West African sub-region, Nigeria and Burkina Faso are the leading producers. The global market value of sesame seed in 2024 is estimated at about USD 4.3 billion, and 63% of the world’s exports were commanded by India, Sudan, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The top five destinations of the commodity in 2024 were China, Turkiye, Japan,
India and South Korea. Among these major importers, Japan, India, Türkiye, and China are projected to have the greatest potential for expanding Ghana’s sesame exports over the next five years.
Market Potential for Ghana’s Sesame Seed Exports (2024-2029)
Although Ghana is relatively new to the commercial cultivation of sesame, the country earned over USD 93 million in export revenue in 2022 alone, highlighting its potential as more than just a fringe crop.
Unfortunately, by 2023, export volumes had dropped significantly to 510.86 metric tonnes, with a corresponding value of USD 278,900. This sharp fluctuation trend has been the feature of Ghana’s sesame exports over the years. The analysis of Ghana’s sesame seed exports from 2019 to 2023 reveals a pattern of extreme volatility, with key events including a dramatic surge in export volume in 2021, a drop in 2022, followed by a collapse in 2023, signifying the fluctuating nature of the sesame seed industry in Ghana.
Source: ITC Trademap
This erratic swing in exports was due to several challenges, including the lack of standardized production practices, inadequate market data, limited policy direction, and the absence of locally adapted seed varieties.
GIRSAL initiated the Sesame Pilot Project to address these bottlenecks and reposition sesame as a viable commercial crop in Ghana. The project aims to develop a reliable production protocol suited to Ghana’s agroclimatic conditions while demonstrating the economic potential of sesame farming to both the public and private sectors. The objective is to generate real-time data on crop performance, yield per acre, production costs, and oil content while identifying export-ready markets and building a compelling business case for commercial expansion. By doing so, GIRSAL seeks to encourage financial institutions to lend to the sector with greater confidence through its credit risk guarantee support.
The pilot project is being implemented in partnership with Canzil Group of Companies (formerly BST Global Partners), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), and other technical collaborators. And trials are being held at Ziope in the Volta Region and Berekum in the Bono Region. At the Ziope site, the trial covers 20 acres and features both Golden Brown and White sesame varieties grown under open-field and irrigation conditions. The crop cycle ranges from approximately 95 to 120 days, from planting to harvest, allowing for efficient monitoring and evaluation within a single production season.
Stakeholder Open Day
In May this year, GIRSAL organized a Stakeholder Open Day at the Ziope pilot site to provide partners with a first-hand look at the progress of the project. The event was attended by key stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Canzil Group, technical experts, and financial institutions, including Ecobank and Access Bank. The partners toured the fields, interacted with the technical teams and discussed the crop’s agronomic performance, irrigation systems, and its broader commercial potential.
Stakeholders at the Open Day
On a broader scale, the project is to revitalize the sesame value chain and for it to substantially contribute to Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings by tapping into the high-demand export markets such as Japan, China, Turkey, the United States, and the UAE. It also presents a strong opportunity for job creation across the agricultural value chain from cultivation, harvesting and packaging for export. For agribusinesses, sesame offers a low-input, drought-tolerant crop option that is well-suited to changing climate conditions.
Furthermore, by de-risking the sesame sector, GIRSAL is making it more attractive to financial institutions, thereby increasing access to credit for agribusinesses. The Sesame Pilot Project is not just a field experiment; it is a strategic intervention aimed at building the foundation for a scalable, investment-ready value chain that can deliver meaningful impact for Ghana. Through collaboration, research, and innovation, GIRSAL is working to ensure that sesame becomes a key driver of agricultural growth and economic diversification in Ghana.
About GIRSAL
GIRSAL is a non-banking financial institution established to de-risk agricultural financing and stimulate increased lending to the agricultural sector by financial institutions in Ghana
GIRSAL provides credit risk guarantees to financial institutions to increase lending to the agricultural sector and provides Technical Assistance and Advisory Services to improve their knowledge and understanding of the agricultural sector as well as strengthen the financial institutions’ capacity to assess, structure and manage agribusiness lending.
For more information about the project or partnership opportunities, contact GIRSAL at info@girsal.com or visit www.girsal.com.