Benin: a 100 million euro agreement reached with Europe to boost the cotton, soybean, and cashew sectors.

This partnership is directly part of the Global Gateway strategy championed by the European Union. At least 70% of this total amount will be directly allocated to three priority sectors of Benin’s agriculture:

• ​Cotton and textiles: The investments aim to accelerate the local processing of the fiber in order to improve tracking and reliability of supplies to European markets.
• ​Soybeans: The funding will support the diversification of supply sources by focusing on processing carried out directly within the country.
• ​Cashew sector: The effort will focus on strengthening sorting and local processing capacities, in accordance with the quality requirements of international buyers.

​The shared goal is to establish better integrated and more resilient value chains between West Africa and Europe.

​Support for SMEs, empowerment of women, and climate transition

​Beyond the industrial restructuring of the sectors, this program includes the Women for Stronger Communities and Growth component. It will facilitate access to credit for small, medium, and intermediate enterprises in the agricultural sector.

​The agreement also pays special attention to the economic resilience of women, who represent nearly 47% of the country’s agricultural workforce, as well as to the protection of rural communities against food insecurity and climate disruption.