Baseline Data Collection for Robust Sesame Farmers in Bauchi and Jigawa States, Nigeria

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is implementing a project aimed at increasing sesame yields and ensuring the supply of high-quality sesame to Robust’s warehouses in Nigeria. The project’s interventions focus on training farmers in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), strengthening the capacity of Licensed Buying Agents (LBAs) in record keeping and traceability, and linking farmers to reliable sources of quality seeds.

Phase one of the project was successfully carried out in Kano State in 2024. Building on these results, Phase two is being implemented in 2025, collecting quantitative data from 700 farmers (420 treatment and 280 comparison farmers), 3 FGDs with farmers, and 1-2 FGDs with LBAs in 1 LGA (Alkaleri) in Bauchi and 4 LGAs (Auyo, Hadejia, Maigatari and Malam Madori) in Jigawa States. The project will operate across 29 randomly selected wards in total: 6 wards in 1 LGA in Bauchi and 23 wards across 4 LGAs in Jigawa.

The treatment group will consist of farmers trained under the project, while the control group will include farmers with comparable characteristics (such as household size, socio-economic conditions, market access, and prior sesame farming experience) who are not project participants.