On November 18, the World Food Programme (WFP) Center of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) held a meeting to evaluate the mission to northern Benin under the Beyond Cotton Project, which took place between October 13 and 17 with the support of the WFP country office. The initiative sought to promote food and nutrition education activities in public schools and develop synchronicity agriculture workshops for family farmers.
Food education
The actions included workshops with children aged 11 to 14, who participated in activities such as the World Café, aimed at identifying eating habits across generations. The results showed that traditional diets based on local products were healthier than current diets, which are characterized by the consumption of ultra-processed foods such as cookies and candy. Activities were also carried out to classify foods as fresh, processed, and ultra-processed, highlighting the loss of nutrients at each stage of processing.
One of the highlights was the testing of the educational game “Amuse-bouche,” developed by the Center of Excellence to stimulate learning about nutrition and sustainability. The interaction involved the active participation of the children but also highlighted some suggestions for adaptations to the final version, such as vocabulary more closely related to the context.
Finally, the nutrition activities ended with a game of hopscotch, where children played and learned about nutrition, good agricultural practices, and sustainability through the squares, numbered from 1 to 15, which contained the information.
Syntropic agriculture
In the field, family farmers participated in workshops on the principles of syntropic agriculture, such as crop rotation, soil conservation, and rational water use. Local techniques were valued and integrated into the practices presented, such as planting trees in agricultural areas to improve fertility. The activities were coordinated by Mario Soares, a professor at the Federal University of Western Bahia.
Schools also received support for the creation of vegetable gardens, with the involvement of school committees formed by mothers, cooks, and parents of students. Simple food conservation technologies were discussed, such as clay and sand refrigerators, already used in other South-South cooperation experiences.
Results and challenges
The mission highlighted important advances: previous training for farmers was disseminated and knowledge was shared to improve banana seedlings and other crops.
It was also noted that the project contributed greatly to the development of a practice of local purchasing from small farmers, who now have greater access to markets. In 2021, Benin recorded only 300 tons of purchases from family farmers for school feeding programs; in 2024, that number jumped to 5,000 tons, highlighting the strengthening of local agriculture.
Among the challenges identified are the need for more time for training during the same mission, the importance of having interpreters present during activities, and the importance of ensuring continuity of the actions initiated. Participants also emphasized that short, purely theoretical visits are not sufficient, and that it is essential to expand the practical component and technical support.
Next steps
The mission’s assessment indicated that the next steps should be to expand integration with universities and technical courses to include sustainable agriculture content in academic training. The importance of strengthening communication and documentation of activities was also highlighted, with audiovisual records that can support the dissemination of results.
In addition, the aim is to consolidate strategies for disseminating agricultural and nutritional practices through virtual workshops and the exchange of extension technicians, while ensuring greater involvement of local authorities and Benin’s National Food and Nutrition Agency (ANAN) to ensure the continuity of actions.
South-South Cooperation
The Beyond Cotton project is a joint initiative of the Center of Excellence and ABC, with support from the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA), and was carried out in three countries: Benin, where it is nearing completion, Tanzania, and Mozambique, where it has already been completed.
The project seeks to support small cotton producers and public institutions in these countries in linking cotton by-products (e.g., seed oil) and intercropped crops such as corn, sorghum, and beans to secure markets, including school feeding programs.