Mid-term Evaluation Report
Revenue through Cotton Livelihoods, Trade, and Equity 
(RECOLTE) Project, Burkina Faso
USDA Food for Progress (2013-2018) 
Data collected by ACI/D SA and report prepared by CRS/Burkina Faso
December 2017
Mid-term Evaluation Report 
Revenue through Cotton Livelihoods, Trade, and Equity 
(RECOLTE) Project, Burkina Faso 
USDA Food for Progress
Program: Food for Progress
Agreement Number: FCC-686-2013/027-00
Funding Year: Fiscal Year 2013
Project Duration: 2013-2018
Implemented by: CRS
DISCLAIMER: This publication was produced at the request of the United States Department of 
Agriculture. It was prepared by an independent third-party evaluation firm. The author’s views 
expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of 
Agriculture or the United States Government.
Accessibility Note: An accessible version of this document can be made available by contacting 
fas.monitoring.evaluation@usda.gov
ACRONYMS................................................................................................................................. 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 8
1.1. Description of the Intervention........................................................................................... 8
1.1.1. Strategic Objectives............................................................................................................... 8
1.1.2. Program Activities ................................................................................................................. 9
1.1.2.1. Changes to RECOLTE activities....................................................................................... 9
1.1.3. Eligibility Rules, Targeting, and Selection of Beneficiaries.................................................. 10
1.2. Evaluation Objectives........................................................................................................12
1.3. Evaluation Questions ........................................................................................................13
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 13
2.1. Evaluation design..............................................................................................................14
2.2. Sampling Strategy .............................................................................................................15
2.3. Data Collection and Analysis..............................................................................................18
2.4. Evaluation Limitations.......................................................................................................20
OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION CONTEXT AND KEY ASSUMPTIONS ......... 21
Programmatic Context.............................................................................................................21
3.1.1. Commodity Management Context...................................................................................... 21
3.1.2. Country Level Political and Social Context .......................................................................... 22
3.1.2.1. Relevant policies and laws in Burkina Faso.................................................................. 22
3.1.2.1.1. Sustainable Development and Accelerated Growth Strategy (SCADD) .................... 22
3.1.2.1.2. National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES)................................. 22
3.1.2.1.3. National Council of Organic Agriculture (CNAbio) and agro-sylvo-pastoral law....... 22
3.1.3 Regional Level Political and Social Context .......................................................................... 22
3.1.4. Implementation Assumptions............................................................................................. 23
3.1.4. Ecological Assumptions....................................................................................................... 23
EVALUATION FINDINGS............................................................................................................ 23
4.1 Producer Demographic Characteristics (Cohorts 1 & 2)........................................................23
4.2 Intervention Relevance and Strategic Fit .......................................................................24
4.2 Adequacy and Efficiency of Resource Utilization .................................................................25
4.3 Effectiveness and Impacts of the Intervention.....................................................................27
4.3.1. Strategic Objective 1: Increased agricultural productivity .................................................. 28
4.3.2. Strategic Objective 2: Expanded trade of agricultural products (domestic, regional, and 
international)................................................................................................................................. 46
4.4 Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning ..........................................................50
4.5 Gender Mainstreaming and Sustainability of Project Activities............................................51
4.6 Constraining and Facilitating Factors of Project Implementation .........................................52
CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED................................................................................... 54
RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................... 56
Annex 1: Results Framework.................................................................................................... 58
Annex 2: Mid-term Evaluation Terms of Reference................................................................. 60
Annex 3: Quantitative data collection questionnaire .............................................................. 71
Annex 4 : Qualitative survey methodology and interview guides........................................... 95
Annex 5 : Mid -term activities achievement rate 2015-2016 ................................................ 100
Annex 6: Mid -term outcomes achievement rate 2015-2016 ............................................... 104
Annex 7 : Focus groups distribution, RECOLTE project intervention area............................. 110
Annex 8: List of Individuals or Organizations/Institutions Encountered ............................... 112
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ACRONYMS
Computer Assisted Mobile Interview (CAMI)
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Economic and Social Development Fund (FBDES)
Food for Progress (FFPr)
Government Investment Promotion Agency in Burkina (API)
income-generating activities (IGAs)
Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D)
Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Research (INERA)
Mobile data for moving herds management and better incomes in Burkina Faso (MODEHEM)
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)
National Council of Organic Agriculture (CNAbio)
National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES)
National Union of Burkina Faso Cotton Producers (UNPCB)
Netherlands Development Organization (SNV)
Open Data Kit (ODK)
Organic Cotton Producer Group (GPCB)
Organic Field Agents (ATBs)
Organic Technical Agents (ATB)
Credit Union Network (RCP)
Revenue through Cotton Livelihoods, Trade, and Equity (RECOLTE)
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Switzerland (SECO)
Sustainable Development and Accelerated Growth Strategy (SCADD)
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Zone Chiefs (CZ)
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
The Revenue through Cotton Livelihoods, Trade, and Equity (RECOLTE) project is a five-year 
(September 2013- September 2018) value chain strengthening project for the organic cotton sector in 
Burkina Faso. The Food for Progress Program, financed by the United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), has a total value of $11.8 million. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been implementing the 
project since September 2013. 
The RECOLTE project works to upgrade the organic cotton value chain and improve the livelihoods of 
vulnerable smallholder producers. Organic and fair-trade cotton commercialization represents a niche 
market for smallholder producers in Burkina Faso, especially women. RECOLTE targets all cotton 
production zones in the country in the regions of Comoe, Loba, Ziro, Boulgou, Nayala, Oubritenga, and 
Gourma. CRS implements the project in partnership with the National Union of Burkina Faso Cotton 
Producers (UNPCB) and Texas A&M – AgriLife Research. RECOLTE also works in collaboration with the 
Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Research (INERA), as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Food Security and the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, to support the government of Burkina Faso to 
foster long term support for the organic cotton industry. 
RECOLTE works with UNPCB to increase production of organic cotton in response to high demand 
through two Strategic Objectives (SO). SO1 seeks to increase agricultural production by a) improving 
the quality of land and water resources; b) increasing the use of improved agricultural techniques and 
technologies; and c) improving farm management. SO2 seeks to expand the trade of agricultural 
products by a) increasing value added to post-production agricultural products; b) increasing access to 
markets to sell agricultural products; and c) improving transaction efficiency. The Results Framework 
in Annex 1 presents RECOLTE’s objectives, results streams, intermediate results, and related activities.
The RECOLTE project is valued at $11.8 million, and will benefit 10,000 producers. CRS has monetized
11,750 MT of milled rice valued at $8.2 million, at the time of the md-term data collection, with 5,000 
MT left to monetize during the second half of the project. The proceeds are used to implement the 
program. Additionally, CRS will use approximately $2 million to administer and monitor the program. 
Main evaluation themes
The midterm evaluation collects data on indicators related to each strategic objective, and provides 
responses to key questions about the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of 
the program to inform USDA, project implementers and partners, the donor community, and other 
key stakeholders. 
Key Evaluation Categories:
Relevance is determined by the extent to which project interventions meet the needs of the organic 
cotton producers, respect Burkina Faso’s organic cotton sector development strategies, align to 
USDA’s objectives, and consider economic, cultural and political contexts.
Effectiveness is determined by the extent to which the project has achieved its objectives. This will 
assess the extent to which the interventions contributed to the expected results or objectives. 
Efficiency is determined by the extent to which the project’s resources (inputs) have led to the 
achieved results, and if the same results could have been achieved with fewer resources or alternative 
approaches. 
Impact is determined by the intended and unintended medium and long-term effects that can be 
attributed to the project’s intervention. Effects can be direct or indirect, positive or negative. 
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Additionally, the evaluation will assess the extent to which the effects are due to the project 
intervention or other factors.
Sustainability is determined by the continuation of the benefits of an activity after funding stops, and 
how much the project has developed local ownership and sustainable partnerships.
Evaluation Methodology
The RECOLTE team provided the research consultants with the list of all producers currently 
participating in the RECOLTE project in the seven organic cotton production regions. With this list, the 
evaluation team generated a sample size of 775 people to survey, and identified the producer, place 
of residence, and producer organization membership. A pipeline analysis was performed as decided at 
the time of the evaluation planning in January 2014. A control group is not available, as all producers 
cultivating organic cotton are associated with the RECOLTE project by way of being participants in the 
UNPCB organic cotton program.
The 775 farmers were segmented into two groups: Cohort 1 includes organic cotton producers that 
have been involved in the project since the baseline; Cohort 2 includes organic cotton producers that 
joined the project after the baseline survey was completed. This segmentation allows the evaluation 
team to compare rates of change in production and revenue between producers who have received 
more project interventions over a longer time-frame (Cohort 1) compared to those who have been 
involved for a shorter time period and benefited from fewer interventions (Cohort 2). The assumption 
that producers with longer-term involvement in the project will have greater production, land area, 
production and crop value will be tested.
The evaluation team used both quantitative and qualitative methods for the mid-term evaluation. The
quantitative survey was conducted with producers and other stakeholders. Qualitative exercises 
included focus groups to get a more detailed picture of cotton producers’ constraints, opportunities, 
and coping mechanisms at the individual, household and community levels. Organic cotton producer 
groups were selected for focus group discussions defined by gender and zone, as well as focus groups 
with buyers, extension agents and other market players. 
Key stakeholders, including the Government of Burkina Faso, INERA, UNPCB, USDA, United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID), United States Department of Labor (USDOL) who have 
interests in the project were involved in the evaluation process. They also participated in the 
discussions related to corrective actions to be taken to address evaluation findings and 
recommendations. 
Evaluation Findings
Intervention Relevance and Strategic Fit
The mid-term evaluation has found that the RECOLTE project has strategically developed and adjusted 
project activities while considering the economic, political, and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The 
project follows the Government of Burkina Faso’s economic and agricultural development policies and 
programs, which focus on vulnerable rural households. CRS and UNPCB have worked together to find 
areas where adjustments would create a better fit for the beneficiaries, such as supporting the 
purchasing of equipment for individual producers instead of groups of producers to allow for a more 
equitably shared resource. CRS and UNPCB are also working to adjust the project to address the new 
challenges after the pull out of Limited Brands. This includes supporting new sections of the value chain 
and international marketing.
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Adequacy and Efficiency of Resource Utilization
In terms of efficiency, the mid-term evaluation performed a cost analysis by producer and a cost￾benefit analysis. In the cost analysis by producer, it was found that the cost per producer increased by 
6.17%, from $180.70 per producer in 2015 to $191.80 per producer in 2016. This is because the project 
experienced a 7.86% decrease in participants, thus causing the project to lose economies of scale since 
the activities were performed on a smaller scale and input costs were unable to be spread across a 
larger number of beneficiaries. Cost per producer could have been decreased by limiting the number 
of refresher trainings, strengthening organic compost production, and reconsidering the method of 
distribution for seeds and other inputs.
For the cost-benefit analysis, the mid-term evaluation found that the total production of organic cotton 
has been in line with the number of beneficiaries producing over the project period. Considering the 
decline of the producer price of organic seed cotton in 2016 (from 375 to 325 FCFA/kg), the rate of 
return that year was 52.9%, a decrease of 5% from 2015, despite the decrease in number of producers. 
The FairTrade premium remains the same and is received upon purchase of cotton from UNPCB, and 
then is shared proportionally to producer groups, who in turn use the money for community 
development. The RECOLTE project should continue to intensify production and seek to resolve the 
bottlenecks in processing and marketing to reach economies of scale and have a greater return on 
investment.
Effectiveness and Impacts of Intervention
Increased Agricultural Productivity
Average organic cotton yield was 393 kg/ha at baseline, while at the midterm, it was 252.9 kg/ha. This 
represents a decrease of 36% of organic cotton production tonnage. This is in part due to the short 
2015/16 rainy season in Burkina Faso cotton production zones: rains began a month late and lasted 
2.5 – 3 months, when 4 months is necessary for quality and quantity cotton production. Likewise, 
conventional crops experienced a 40% drop in production tonnage over this period, as conventional 
production was also impacted by the poor seasonal rainfall. Inputs, such as certified organic cotton 
seeds, were delayed and were not sown at the ideal time for the 2015/2016 season. The cohort 
analysis reveals that average organic cotton yield at mid-term was slightly higher for Cohort 1 (265 
kg/ha) than for Cohort 2 (235 kg/ha), indicating a potential impact of the early project activities on 
yields. Average yields per hectare were also higher at mid-term for women than for men, indicating a 
change from the baseline situation which showed men having higher yields than women.
At baseline, producers were earning an average of 147,377 FCFA per hectare for organic cotton. At 
midterm, the average value of organic cotton production per hectare was a 94,547 FCFA/ha, with 
98,004 FCFA/ha for Cohort 1 and 88,977 for Cohort 2. While average value in organic cotton production 
per hectare has decreased overall, women now earn 10% more than men overall (2.4% in Cohort 1 and 
21.9% in Cohort 2). This aligns with their higher yields per hectare. This is an improvement from the 
baseline, which revealed that men earned 32% more than women. This positive improvement in 
women’s incomes could be due to the project’s activities to overcome barriers to women’s access to 
productive inputs; for example, distributing farming tools directly to producers rather than to producer 
organizations, thus improving women’s access to the tools and promoting higher agricultural 
productivity among women.
A project objective was to increase the surface area cultivated to 1 ha per producer, but at the time 
that this objective was set, gender disparities in access to land was not taken into consideration. At 
midterm, the average surface area (ha) cultivated by producer is 0.77 ha. Overall, men cultivate an 
average of 0.98 ha, while women cultivate on average 0.55 ha. Cohort 1 has an average of 0.88 ha per 
producer, while Cohort 2 has an average of 0.64 ha per producer, partly because most of the new 
producers in Cohort 2 are women, who have less access to land than men. Women not only face
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cultural constraints to land access in general, but also limitations in the size of parcels that they can 
cultivate. The fact that the surface area objective of 1 ha/producer has not been met is thus related to
the increased participation of women and other vulnerable producers in the RECOLTE project, and not 
an indication that these vulnerable producers have not improved their production capacity.
UNPCB also had a positive view of the project’s impact in terms of support for all the components of 
the organic cotton value chain. INERA also stated that they benefited from institutional support and 
capacity building, including one of their researchers who benefited from internships with the 
laboratory and researchers at the University of Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center.
Expanded trade of agricultural products
The mid-term evaluation considered the RECOLTE project’s activities aimed at expanding trade of 
agricultural products in the domestic, regional, and international arenas. 
Organic cotton exports decreased between the 2014/15 and the 2015/16 growing seasons, from 2,622
MT of cotton fiber in 2014/15 to 1,170 MT in 2015/16. At baseline, 2,000 MT of cotton fiber were 
exported. The target of exports at the end of the project, 3,300 MT. This situation was due to the poor 
rainfall in the 2015 season, which had a negative impact on cotton production overall. Conventional 
crops experienced a 40% drop in production tonnage. Fiber cotton exports in the 2014/15 season 
generated about $3,281,100, compared to $756,374 in 2015/16, while the endline target is 
$4,785,000.
Sustainability of project activities
Organic agricultural techniques and organizational capacity building appear to have high probability of 
sustainability. The high achievement and adoption rates across producers, genders, and zones are an
early signal that the environmentally and operationally sustainable practices will continue. 
On the other hand, there are activities along the value chain that are at risk of not being sustainable. 
Organic Field Agents (ATBs) have a low retention rate and limited time with producers to continue 
promoting behavior change in agricultural practice, while producers have low educational levels. The 
delayed ginning, and thus payment and seed access for the following season, discourages producers 
from continuing with organic cotton production, the pull out of Limited Brands has left the project 
vulnerable without a buyer. 
The evaluation team is assured that CRS and UNPCB have adjusted their programming and activities to 
address these vulnerabilities. It is essential to the sustainability of the project to secure a ginning 
facility. At the writing of this report, the project is taking steps to address this specific issue by exploring 
the feasibility of an organic-focused ginning site.
Lessons learned
The mid-term evaluation highlighted numerous lessons that have been learned by the various partners
on the RECOLTE project.
According to UNPCB, CRS’ main partner, the project is quite innovative considering its broad scope. It 
is more substantially funded than previous projects, which UNPCB believes has helped to provide the 
necessary resources to achieve structural results. Similarly, UNPCB noted that the project has 
improved accountability at all levels and from all actors, which they see as a prerequisite for 
development. With increased capacity, UNPCB can share, collaborate, and listen to other partners to 
best promote organic cotton.
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The evaluation team noted that organic cotton producers reflected that the project impressed upon 
them the importance of respecting standards for organic cotton production in order to be successful.
They valued the project’s support to the poor both at the individual and the community level, 
particularly through community investments made with the proceeds from the organic cotton
premium funds. Producers stated that the most satisfactory and relevant project activities include the 
strengthened input supply, capacity building through the various trainings provided, and soil fertility 
enhancement. Producers highlighted the need for more equipment support, stronger support for 
income generating activities, and increased access to agriculture financing. 
Field agents, including heads of areas and organic field agents (ATBs), also shared their perspectives 
on the project. They valued the project’s pro-poor approach and said that the project helped them to
understand that nothing can be achieved without gaining knowledge, which is a source of success and 
strength for both individuals and institutions. They were also satisfied with the flexibility in the
project’s implementation, in contrast to other projects where the rigidity often jeopardizes activity 
implementation.
During the activity implementation phase, CRS staff realized that some of the assumptions made at 
the project development stage proved not to be realistic on the ground and could have been better 
specified in more precise and explicit terms to avoid multiple adaptations.
Conclusion
The evaluation team has found that, at the mid-term, the RECOLTE project has demonstrated resiliency 
throughout impactful external changes, and is able to meet end-line goals and objectives. The external 
impacts have changed the structure of the project: the sudden departure of Limited Brands has added 
new activities and focus to the project, and the impact of a shortened rainy season has led to producers 
dropping out of the project. Yet CRS and project partners have continued to adjust and respond to the 
changes so as to continue to have a relevant, efficient, impactful, and sustainable organic cotton 
production sector in Burkina Faso. 
Data collected during the mid-term evaluation indicates that objectives related to average yield, 
average surface area planted, and average value of production have not yet been achieved. A number 
of external influential factors, including an irregular rainy season, have limited the achievement of 
these objectives.
The objective to expand trade of organic cotton produced in the RECOLTE project has been met in that 
trade has been expanded to new buyers since the departure of Limited Brands. Yet, in terms of quantity 
of organic cotton exported and revenue earned from organic cotton sold, targets were not met. 
Organic cotton exports decreased from the 2014/2015 season to the 2015/2016 season, from 2,622 
MT of cotton fiber in 2014/15 to 1,170 MT in 2015/16. Fiber cotton exports in the 2014/15 season 
generated about $3,281,100, compared to $756,374 in 2015/16, while the endline target is 
$4,785,000. This situation was due to the poor rainfall in the 2015 season, which had a negative impact 
on cotton production overall.
Recommendations
Demonstration plots to meet farmer needs
CRS and UNPCB worked with the NGO Green Cross and INERA to develop demonstration plots and 
seed farms that tested new and different technologies and techniques. During implementation, 
7
producers can learn about and test new techniques by dividing the plot into two to four different 
treatment sections. INERA initially tested four different techniques per plot, however this posed 
challenges in comparison and choice for producers at the field level. If demonstration plots are limited 
to two different technologies, then producers can easily test and compare new treatments, ultimately 
adopting the better treatment technique.
Stakeholder relationship building
UNPCB shares SOFITEX’s cotton gins, which poses major challenges to the organic cotton production. 
The gins, which also process conventional cotton, need to first process all conventional cotton and 
then be thoroughly cleaned to avoid contaminating the organic cotton. This later ginning has a ripple 
effect such as farmers’ receiving late payment which discourages them and causes all other activities 
to be late: farmer registration, laboratory analysis of seed cotton and hence the distribution of seed 
cotton distribution, then planting, and then finally impacts next year’s yields. To overcome this 
challenge and become a majority shareholder, UNPCB builds and nurtures relationships with the main 
actors in the cotton sector and invests in creating an enabling environment for the existence and 
development of the organic cotton value chain. 
Broader space for women in organic cotton production
Initial RECOLTE objectives included reaching an average of one hectare per producer for organic cotton 
farms. Organic cotton requires little input and no needed credit; thus, it is popular among vulnerable 
populations, especially women. However, women have little access to land. In working toward the goal 
of 10,000 producers, women were targeted and there was a spike in the percentage of women 
producers in the project and the average farm size decreased to less than 0.6 hectares. CRS and UNPCB 
ultimately evaluated and adjusted this indicator to reflect the reality of organic farming in Burkina 
Faso. In the project design phase, gender mainstreaming should be more strongly considered when 
defining goals. 
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INTRODUCTION 
The Revenue through Cotton Livelihoods, Trade, and Equity (RECOLTE) project is a five-year (2013-
2018) value chain strengthening project for the organic cotton sector in Burkina Faso. The Food for 
Progress project, financed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has a total value of 
$11.8 million, including 16,750 metric tons of monetized rice. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been 
implementing the project since September 2013. 
The RECOLTE project builds upon previous development work with the National Union of Burkina Faso 
Cotton Producers (UNPCB) to invest in upgrading the organic cotton sector. The RECOLTE project 
targets many points of the value chain to build technical knowledge, commercial capacity, and an 
enabling environment so that stakeholders may autonomously support and improve the livelihoods of 
vulnerable smallholder producers involved in the organic cotton sector.
RECOLTE has a target to reach 10,000 organic cotton smallholder producers, with the aim of 30% 
female participants. The targeted producers are in seven regions, which are all cotton production 
zones in Burkina Faso. The project activities are aimed at fulfilling two strategic objectives in the 
organic cotton sector: 1) increase agricultural production and 2) expand the trade of agricultural 
products. 
CRS and its local partner, UNPCB, developed a monitoring and evaluation plan at the project’s 
beginning. Based on this, the evaluation team has collected quantitative and qualitative data at 
producer and organizational level for the baseline and midterm evaluation periods to evaluate the 
progress on results indicators and on activity indicators, and to estimate the impact of the intervention 
over the first half of the project. The aim is to recommend strategic actions to build on achievements 
and identify areas for improved project performance during its second half. 
1.1. Description of the Intervention 
The RECOLTE Project works to strengthen the organic cotton value chain and improve production of 
rotational crops in Burkina Faso such as soy, sesame, shea, and peanuts. The project aims to benefit 
more than 10,000 smallholder producers from seven cotton production zones: Comoe, Ioba, Ziro, 
Boulgou, Nayala, Oubritenga, and Gourma.
Additionally, the project is working to strengthen the organizational capacity of UNPCB, the input 
capacity of the Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Research (INERA), and the support 
structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Commerce.
1.1.1. Strategic Objectives 
The RECOLTE project activities are aimed at fulfilling two Strategic Objectives in the organic cotton 
sector:
1) Increase agricultural production
2) Expand the trade of agricultural products
SO1, or the increase in productivity, is to be addressed by enhancing the quality of the land and water 
resources, increasing the use of upgraded agricultural techniques and technologies, and bettering farm 
management. This will enable improved production techniques and enhance producers’ 
administrative capacity. SO2, or the expanded trade of organic cotton and rotational crops will be 
facilitated by increasing the value added to post-production agricultural products, increasing access to 
markets to sell agricultural product, and improving transaction efficiency (See Annex 1 for the Results 
Framework).
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1.1.2. Program Activities 
To achieve the above objectives, CRS implements a cohesive set of activities that strengthen four key 
areas of organic cotton and rotational crop value chains: production, post-harvest handling, 
processing, and marketing. 
Activities to increase agricultural productivity in cotton and rotational cropsfocus on providing training 
to improve agricultural production techniques and farm management, strengthening seed and input 
systems to increase the availability of inputs, as well as developing farm-level financial and non￾financial services that producers need to implement best practices. Activitiesto strengthen production
are implemented in the field by Organic Field Agents (ATBs) who are trained as extension agents by 
UNPCB. Zone supervisors (CZs) manage ATBs in each zone and report to UNPCB about RECOLTE 
activities.
Activities to expand trade focus on supporting UNPCB in developing a marketing strategy, identifying 
buyers, and advocacy for an enabling environment for the organic cotton trade in Burkina Faso. The 
activities include organizational capacity building, attending cotton trade shows to develop and 
deepen a buyer network, and coordinating with government and private sector stakeholders in 
supporting the growth of UNPCB’s organic cotton program. 
1.1.2.1. Changes to RECOLTE activities
Initial RECOLTE targets for increased agricultural productivity included the following: 
1. Average area per producer: target of 1 hectare per producer
2. Average yield per ha: target of 550kg/ha
3. Seed yield per ha: target of 300 kg/ha
4. 30% female participation
The target for Indicator 1 above, average area per producer, was set at 1 ha/producer at the start of 
the project. However, at midterm, the average area cultivated per producer remains much lower than 
the target, at 0.6 ha/producer (on average, 0.98 ha for men and 0.55 ha for women). At midterm, the 
RECOLTE team recognizes that the original target of 1 ha/producer is not achievable due to the high 
numbers of women participants who have limited access to land. CRS and UNPCB suggest that 
measuring surface area is not a realistic target for increasing productivity of organic cotton among the 
project’s targeted farmers. The other 3 indicators remain in place and results are described in the 
following sections.
A number of changes to activities have been made over the course of the project and are summarized 
here, particularly as a result of the loss of the main buyer, and a changed strategy from focusing on 
farmers’ groups to supporting individual farmers.
A new activity was added to the project using US $140,000 received from Limited Brands. UNPCB 
manages this as a revolving fund to provide micro-loans for women to carry out income-generating 
activities (IGAs) in the target zones. Women can take out loans to engage in economic activities and 
repay once they receive their cotton income. When Limited Brands ended their contract as a 
purchasing agent, RECOLTE and UNPCB negotiated terms to offset the resulting lowered purchasing 
price (the loss of the Limited Brands contract meant that producers lost the 50 FCFA premium they 
had; thus the price fell from 375 FCFA/kg to 325 FCFA/kg). It is from this negotiation that these funds 
were made available, and this activity was added.
To mitigate the loss of Limited Brands as a buyer and adapt to the project’s changed strategy of 
targeting equipment to individual producers instead of farming groups, in 2016, USDA granted CRS a 
5,000 MT increase in monetization tonnage, equivalent to nearly $2.75 million (i.e. a budget increase 
of more than 25%). This budget increase resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of producers, 
especially female producers, with access to farming equipment and inputs.
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While RECOLTE initially aimed to equip 150 farming groups with crop production equipment over the 
course of the project, the team decided instead to support producers on an individual basis. The 
RECOLTE team came to this decision after realizing that group-level management of the equipment 
was not efficient considering that producers cultivate their fields individually. The project instead
acquired an initial 530 pieces of equipment to benefit individual growers at a 50% discounted rate.
With the increased budget, a total of 2,103 additional farming implements were purchased and made 
available to organic cotton producers at a reduced rate. As a result, 2,650 producers – 26% of the life 
of the project target – have access to these materials instead of 5% of producers as per the initial 
project design. 
When developing the updated agricultural equipment subsidy, CRS and UNPCB worked together to 
determine a subsidy that would be efficient and appropriate to the task, gender sensitive, and would 
contribute to the sustainability of organic cotton production. Another important consideration was the 
government subsidy for conventional cotton producers, and how the project could make a competitive 
offer to producers. These factors directly informed the decision to equip individual producers instead 
of producer groups. 
RECOLTE farmers can choose between two approaches for purchasing inputs and agricultural 
equipment at reduced rates. First, producers can take up to two seasons to reimburse UNPCB for the 
discounted equipment by taking a direct deduction on their income from the sale of cotton seed to 
UNPCB. Second, producers with larger financial capacities can decide to pay in cash in a single 
installment of the total subsidized amount for their equipment. The targeting elements of the subsidy 
include: women are prioritized, producers must agree to producer organic cotton for 3 years, women 
must have 0.25 ha to use for organic cotton, and men must have 0.5 ha to 1 ha for organic cotton.
1.1.3. Eligibility Rules, Targeting, and Selection of Beneficiaries
The program targets 7 of the 8 cotton production zones in the country: Comoe, Ioba, Ziro, Boulgou, 
Nayala, Oubritenga, and Gourma (see chart 1 below). These are areas in which organic cotton has 
previously been cultivated, and therefore there are existing UNPCB offices and field agents. These 
areas generally have adequate growing conditions for organic cotton, including rainfall. 
11
Chart 1: Organic Cotton Production Zones in Burkina Faso1
Beneficiary groups include all producers who are willing to become organic cotton producers. The 
selection of beneficiaries was based on the following criteria: 
a. Agrees not to produce both organic cotton and conventional cotton during the agricultural 
campaign; 
b. Agrees not to use genetically modified or chemical inputs or materials, such as seeds, 
fungicides, or fertilizers, and agrees to gradually transform his/her operations to conform to 
organic standards; 
c. Possesses storage areas specifically for organic production of crops including cotton, soy, 
sesame, and hibiscus; 
d. Does not belong to a producer unit that produces conventional or GMO products; in specific 
cases, as in the case of women or for young, unmarried individuals belonging to mixed farms, 
they could be selected for organic production if there is sufficient proof of complete isolation 
of the organic crop from the spouse or family member’s conventional or GMO crop; 
e. Possesses sufficient land for crop rotation.
In addition to the primary selection criteria, the project selected beneficiaries using secondary criteria: 
a. Voluntarily become a member of an organic cotton producers group (GPCB); 
b. Willingness to sign a production contract in accordance with organic regulations; and 
c. Willingness to procure a sufficient amount of organic inputs, such as organic fertilizer and 
organic pesticides.
 
1 The chart reflects an additional region. At the time of the mid-term evaluation, a decision had been made to 
expand activities to the Kossi region in order to increase the number of participants. New participants from this 
region joined in the 2016/2107 season, thus they were not included in the evaluation.
12
Along with beneficiary selection criteria, the project also had land parcel selection criteria. Land parcel 
selection is important asit enables beneficiaries to grow organic cotton within the organic certification 
criteria. The land parcel selection criteria include: 
a. Parcels must be at least 50 meters and upstream from all other non-organic parcels; 
b. A separation distance for seed parcels of 100 meters; 
c. For other organic rotation crops, observe a separation distance of at least 10 meters from 
conventional crops, 50 meters if the crops are GMO; 
d. Parcels must never have been planted with GMO crops and must not have been treated with 
chemicals (fertilizer or pesticides) during the previous three months; 
e. Parcels have sufficient organic matter and are accessible during every season; 
f. Minimum surface area of sown cotton: 0.25 ha for women, 0.5 ha for men. 
The project has set different requirements for minimum surface area for men and women because 
women’s access to land is much lower than men’s access, and land that women use for farming 
activities often belongs to their husbands. Also, women have less access to equipment, which limits 
their ability to plant on more land. The cultural norms around equipment usage is that men have 
priority access, which minimizes the time that women are able to utilize the tools. 
CRS and its partner UNPCB anticipate a total of 10,000 producers to participate in the RECOLTE Project. 
At the end of the baseline data collection period, a total of 7,094 producers were registered. At 
midterm, there were a total of 8,382 active producers in the program. The RECOLTE project seeks to 
enroll more producers to reach a total of 10,000 beneficiaries in activities. 
Several factors kept the project from attaining 10,000 beneficiaries at midterm. For example, the 
difficult planting season in 2015-16, with inadequate levels of rainfall, meant that producers who were 
not well established within the cash crop system tended to withdraw the following season. 
There are producers who were unable to produce or did not follow the guidelines for organic 
production, thus disallowing them from continuing with the program after their farms were not organic
certified. Delayed payments for their cotton sales also resulted in some farmers withdrawing. 
However, the current planting season is showing positive signs, and the project's additional investment 
made it more appealing to produce organic cotton. As of September 2016, one new organic cotton 
production zone has been opened resulting in a geographic expansion. This addition anticipates 800 
new participants in the 2016/2017 season. The project expects to continue working towards its target 
of 10,000 beneficiaries by the end of the project.
Chart 2: RECOLTE beneficiary numbers at Year 2, before organic certification of farms
Zones Producers in 2013 Producers
Project Year 1 
Producers
Project Year 2
Comoe 316 275 293
Ioba 995 650 718
Gourma 1,794 1,825 1,576
Ziro 668 863 1,192
Boulgou 2,793 3,333 2,709
Nayala 393 1,134 1,645
Oubritenga 135 239 249
Total 7,094 8,319 8,382
1.2. Evaluation Objectives 
The objective of this midterm evaluation is to assess progress in implementation of the RECOLTE 
project and the relevance of interventions. The midterm evaluation examines the results framework 
13
and critical assumptions and considers the implementing environment, including enablers and 
constraints in order to measure progress against stated goals, objectives, and targets against baseline 
values.
The midterm evaluation provides an early signal of the interventions’ effectiveness, documents lessons 
learned, assesses sustainability efforts and progress to date, and recommends any necessary mid￾course correction. The scope of the evaluation is both retrospective and prospective, assessing service 
delivery as outlined in the project operation plan and detailed implementation plans at mid-point. 
1.3. Evaluation Questions
The midterm evaluation provides responses to key questions about the relevance, effectiveness, 
efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the program, as well as specific questions about each strategic 
objective that are important to USDA, the local partners, the donor community, and other key 
stakeholders. The evaluation questions included in the quantitative surveys and qualitative focus 
group discussions were oriented to address these key evaluation themes. For the mid-term evaluation, 
the questions to be answered are listed in Annex 3.
Key Evaluation Categories:
Relevance is determined by the extent to which project interventions meet the needs of the organic 
cotton producers, respect Burkina Faso’s organic cotton sector development strategies, align to 
USDA’s objectives, and consider economic, cultural and political contexts.
Effectiveness is determined by the extent to which the project has achieved its objectives. This will 
assess the extent to which the interventions contributed to the expected results or objectives. 
Efficiency is determined by the extent to which the project’s resources (inputs) have led to the 
achieved results, and if the same results could have been achieved with fewer resources or alternative 
approaches. 
Impact is determined by the intended and unintended medium and long-term effects that can be 
attributed to the project’s intervention. Effects can be direct or indirect, positive or negative. 
Additionally, the evaluation will assess the extent to which the effects are due to the project 
intervention or other factors.
Sustainability is determined by the continuation of the benefits of an activity after funding stops, and 
how much the project has developed local ownership and sustainable partnerships.
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY 
The RECOLTE Project midterm evaluation reports on all indicators agreed upon with USDA, providing 
an update on indicators compared to the baseline study and targets. The mid-term evaluation followed 
a mixed-method approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods. This approach made it 
possible to: 
a. Triangulate results of the evaluation, which strengthens the validity and credibility of 
the results; 
b. Utilize information from one method to develop the instrument for another method; 
c. Have complementarity in the results; 
d. Have diversity in the value dimensions of the evaluation; and 
e. Generate new knowledge about the evaluation results.
By using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the evaluation is more capable of identifying 
underlying causes for the program results at the time of the midterm evaluation. Focus groups and 
individual interviews were used to gain beneficiary perspectives on project impact, validate 
quantitative findings, identify lessons learned, and evaluate the project’s impact on producer 
14
organizations and private enterprises, and to evaluate the degree of satisfaction with the services 
provided by the program.
2.1. Evaluation design 
Data collection methods used in this evaluation included a quantitative survey, semi-structured 
interviews with project participants and stakeholders and focus groups with project participants. A 
literature review including ministry and government documents and project reports also contributed 
to the evaluation. The evaluation team sourced, whenever possible, numerators with appropriate 
language proficiency in areas where they collected information; this allowed for the team to facilitate 
data collection in a linguistically and culturally appropriate manner.
This evaluation assessed the RECOLTE project’s performance and impact on project beneficiaries at 
the mid-point of the project implementation period. Thus, data was gathered to complete and 
complement baseline and current project data from 2013 through 2016. The evaluation team began 
reviewing background documents cited in the existing project records. Quantitative as well as 
qualitative data concerning the project’s performance was collected via field surveys.
Individual interviews were held for key stakeholders in the RECOLTE Project, including project partners, 
beneficiaries, and the project team itself (Annexes 3 and 4). The interviews provided an in-depth 
understanding of the effectiveness, relevance, and sustainability of the project. 
Focus groups were conducted with the organic cotton producers (Annex 4). Topics covered included 
beneficiary motivations, constraints on the organic cotton value chain, women’s participation, child 
labor, sources of contamination of organic product, adaptability to organic regulations, and 
satisfaction level.
Field Survey
A field survey was carried out from September 1st through 14th, 2016. A total of six teams led by field 
supervisors covered the seven project intervention areas. Team members were grouped according to 
their language proficiencies in order to remain culturally and linguistically relevant in the data 
collection. A total of 804 people were surveyed, but 29 observations were deleted after data treatment
due to insufficient responses, with a final total of 775 people included in the analysis. This covers 9.6% 
of the total beneficiary population, which gives the survey a 95% statistical significance. The survey 
provided both qualitative and quantitative data for the midterm report.
The data collection questionnaires were transcribed into digital format (Annex 3). The CAMI 
(Computer Assisted Mobile Interview) method was used for the collection of quantitative data. Tablets 
were used to aid in data collection using the Open Data Kit (ODK) tool. The survey included the 
following sections:
Section 0: Identification 
Section 1: Producer ID and general characteristics
Section 2: Household composition and members involved in farming
Section 3: Agriculture equipment and draught animals
Section 4: Characteristics of organic crops plots (cotton and rotational crops)
Section 5: Used inputs
Section 6: Seeds and applied techniques
Section 7: Inputs costs
15
Section 8: Organic Cotton production
Section 9: Cotton processing and production income
Section 10: Income and utilization
Section 11: Households shocks and stresses
Section 12: Accessing farming services
Section 13: Quality of Storage infrastructures
Section 14: Constraints and perspectives on the future of organic cotton
A manual on the use of tablets and Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D)
for data collection was used to train enumerators.
2.2. Sampling Strategy 
Target population
The target population at the time of the midterm evaluation, before organic certification of fields, was 
made up of all 8,382 beneficiaries registered in the RECOLTE project, which has been in 
implementation phase since April 2014. Attrition has occurred due to two main factors: abandonment 
of participating producers, or ineligibility due to inappropriate land parcels used for organic cultivation.
The population was stratified into two cohorts for the purposes of this evaluation. Cohort 1 refers to 
the producers who started with the project from the beginning, thus benefiting from all project 
activities. Cohort 2 refers to the producers who joined the project after the baseline and therefore did 
not benefit from the earlier project interventions. This approach allows a comparison not only with 
the baseline status, but also between these two groups.
Per the evaluation plan developed and approved in January 2014, the evaluation follows a pipeline 
analysis methodology. This is because virtually all producers of organic cotton in Burkina Faso are 
associated with UNPCB’s organic cotton program, and thus beneficiaries of the RECOLTE project. There 
are no other organic cotton projects in the country. If a producer cultivates organic cotton outside of 
the project, they would not have access to the organic pricing or sales. 
Chart 3: Distribution of beneficiaries by cohort, after organic certification of farms
Intervention areas
Cohort 1 Cohort 2
TOTAL
Male Female Total Male Female Total
Banfora 61 106 167 53 50 103 270
Fada 839 420 1,259 253 127 380 1,639
Ioba 327 54 381 163 26 189 570
Nayala 85 598 683 95 430 525 1,208
Oubritenga 60 77 137 33 34 67 204
Tenkodogo 1,141 978 2,119 170 204 374 2,493
Ziro 247 273 520 291 268 559 1,079
16
Total 2,760 2,506 5,266 1,058 1,139 2,197 7,463
Sampling
Information used to generate the sample size of 775 people surveyed was provided by the RECOLTE 
project team. The primary resource was the list of all participating producers in the seven organic 
cotton production regions where the RECOLTE project activities are currently in implementation and 
included the producer, place of residence, and producer organization membership. 
The sample size was determined using three indicators: the average production of organic cotton at 
baseline, the average area used for organic cotton production at baseline, and the average income 
from production at baseline. The sample size was calculated with the equation below using these three 
indicators, comparing the total size for each indicator, and the largest size was selected as the sample 
size to ensure the representativeness of the sample for all three indicators.
The following formula was used to determine sample size:
𝑛 = 𝐷×
(𝑆1
2 + 𝑆2
2
)(𝑍𝛼 + 𝑍𝛽)
2
(𝑋2 − 𝑋1
)
2
With n = sample size; D = design effect, it is 2; Zα = 1.65 represents the coefficient to reach a confidence 
level of 95%; Zβ = 0.84 represents the coefficient to reach a statistical power of 80%; X1 = cotton yield 
at baseline; X2 = target value of cotton yield at the endline; S1 = variance related to parameter X1; S2 
= variance related to parameter X2.
The stratified two-stage random sampling was chosen. This choice is justified because of two 
advantages of this method:
1. Stratification makes it possible to obtain a representative sample per stratum. As indicated in 
the Evaluation Terms of Reference, the sampling design should provide a representative 
sample in the seven project areas of intervention. Thus, the strata are those seven areas where 
the project is implemented.
2. The two-stage drawing reduces the dispersion in the sample (the distance between two groups 
to be interviewed) and thus reduces the cost and time required to complete the data 
collection. A judicious allocation between the number and size of the primary units (producers’ 
organizations – see following section) provides sufficient accuracy for the statistical indicators 
observed in the sample. 
Selection of primary and secondary units
The primary unit selected is the Organic Cotton Producer Group (GPCB). A GPCB is made up of several 
producers. Each primary unit was created in proportion to their size in number of members, using the 
Probability Proportional to Size sampling method. This method was selected based on the assumption 
that the size of the GPCB is strongly correlated to the production and yield of its group members. A 
total of 79 GPCBs (42 from Cohort 1 and 37 from Cohort 2) were selected. Nayala has a high proportion 
of GPCB selected (12 GPCB out of 19 existing). This is due to the large memberships in the zone’s 
groups. Chart 4 below shows the distribution of the selected primary units by stratum (area of 
intervention) and by cohort. 
Chart 4: Distribution of Primary Units Selected by Stratum (Area) and by Cohort
Area (stratum)
Cohort 1 Cohort 2
Number of
GPCB
Number of GPCB 
selected 
Number of
GPCB
Number of GPCB 
selected
17
BANFORA 20 3 17 3
FADA 36 9 34 6
IOBA 37 4 32 3
NAYALA 16 5 19 12
OUBRITENGA 7 3 9 3
TENKODOGO 60 13 56 7
ZIRO 18 3 23 3
TOTAL 194 42 190 37
Source : A.C.I / D.-SA, based on the use of the framework provided by CRS
The secondary units, representing the participating producers in the RECOLTE project, were selected 
among the primary units. Using a systematic random sampling method, 10 producers were selected 
from each primary unit. A total of 804 producers were selected, 418 from Cohort 1 and 386 from Cohort
2. The following table shows the distribution of the number of producers for each stratum (zone) and 
cohort (Chart 5).
18
Chart 5: Distribution of the number of producers to be surveyed by area and cohort
Area
Cohort 1 Cohort 2
Total number 
of producers
Sampled 
producers Percentage (%) Total number 
of producers
Sampled 
producers Percentage (%)
BANFORA 142 33 8 153 33 9
FADA 682 93 22 389 60 16
IOBA 324 44 11 160 33 9
NAYALA 378 52 12 808 123 32
OUBRITENGA 77 33 8 174 33 9
TENKODOGO 944 130 31 463 71 18
ZIRO 124 33 8 214 33 9
TOTAL 2671 418 100 2361 386 100
2.3. Data Collection and Analysis 
Calculation of the aggregated indicators
Aggregation coefficients are necessary in order to extrapolate results from the sampled producers. 
These coefficients give weight to each secondary unit (producer) in the sample. The aggregation 
represents the number of producers in the total beneficiary population that are represented by each 
producer included in the survey sample.
The weights were adjusted to consider the effective non-response rate discussed below. The weight 
for each selected producer in the sample is the inverse of its probability of inclusion in the final sample. 
This probability of inclusion was obtained using the following formula:
𝑝𝑖 =
𝑛𝑖
𝑁′
𝑖
×𝑛𝑠
𝑁𝑖
𝑁𝑠
Thus,
𝑤𝑖 =
1
𝑝𝑖
With 
P_ (i) = probability of inclusion; n_s = the size of the stratum sample s; N_s = number of producers in 
stratum s; N_i = number of producers in group i;〖N '〗 _ i = number of producers enumerated in 
group i; and n_i = number of producers interviewed in group i.
Data Analysis
For most indicators, data was analyzed using the SPSS analysis tool. The analysis incorporated 
adjustments to the weighting to account for non-responses during the data collection. These non￾responses are due to difficulties in field data collection. In the case that a producer was not available, 
the enumerators randomly selected another participant.
As such, the estimation robustness may be affected to some extent depending on the way the indicator 
is linked to those above-mentioned factors.
19
For the pipeline comparison, the sample size calculation allows for direct comparison across the 
cohorts. Annexes 7 and 8 show the data disaggregated by cohort and by sex. While most of the 
indicators are disaggregated into the 7 cotton zones, it is important to note that the stratification 
applied to the sampling strategy does not ensure the representativeness of findings between those 
zones since the sample size calculation was not made per cotton zone.
T-test to determine differences between cohorts
Chart 6: Descriptive statistics on cohort 1 and cohort 2
Cohort N Mean
Std. 
Deviation
Std. Error 
Mean
Total area for organic cotton 
2015/2016
Cohort 
1
286 .8778 .77076 .04558
Cohort 
2
249 .6418 .40449 .02563
Organic cotton yield 2015/2016 
(kg/ha)
Cohort 
1
286 260.6856 252.88100 14.95317
Cohort 
2
249 217.8312 312.99910 19.83551
Average value of organic cotton 
production based on 325F/kg for 
season 2015/2016
Cohort 
1
310 78163.6346 82123.76378 4664.31635
Cohort 
2
266 66270.6395 99925.27556 6126.81175
Chart 6 shows the descriptive statistics for all of the indicators chosen to test for systematic difference 
between the two cohorts. These three indicators were selected as they provide insight into achieving 
the SO1, increased agricultural productivity, which is the most quantitatively measurable objective in 
the project. Since the project beneficiaries have all been selected for participation with the same 
selection criteria, it is hypothesized that the longer the beneficiary has been with a project, the more 
change will happen with their production outcomes. 
Area, production, and cost are all reflected in the selected indicators; these are all measurable 
outcomes that are heavily influenced by participation in the RECOLTE project. By selecting these 
indicators, it is possible to statistically test the differences between the beneficiaries who have 
participated for a longer period versus the relatively new beneficiaries. Through a t-test, it is possible 
to know if there is a statistically significant difference between the two cohorts through the lens of the 
selected indicators. 
20
Chart 7: T-test output
Statistics t df Sig. (2-
tailed)
Mean 
Difference
95% Confidence Interval of 
the Difference
Lower Upper
Total area for organic 
cotton 2015/2016 4.514 442.896 .000 .23603 .13326 .33880
Organic cotton yield 
2015/2016 (kg/ha) 1.750 533 .081 42.85440 -5.23736 90.94616
Average value of 
organic cotton 
production based on 
325F/kg for season 
2015/2016
1.568 574 .118 11892.99506 -3008.52409 26794.51421
A t-test was performed to determine whether the two cohorts were systematically different from each 
other. These three indicators were selected to create the profile of the beneficiaries, and then the 
outcomes of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 were tested. The inferential analysis tested the significance of the 
differences between Cohort 1 and Cohort 2. The null hypothesis is that there is equality of the averages 
of the two cohorts on indicators such as production, revenue, and yield. All of these analyses assumed 
normal distribution, homogeneous variance, and cohort independence.
The t-test demonstrated that:
- There is a significant difference, where p < .000, between the two cohorts in total area 
cultivated for organic cotton and rotational crops, at the 1% level.
- Even at 5%, there is no significant difference between the organic cotton yields of the 
two cohorts. The difference becomes significant from 10%. P > .02, at 0.081
- There is not a significant difference, where p > .02, between the two cohorts in the 
average value of organic cotton production based on 325 FCFA/kg. 
According to the t-test, the two cohorts are systematically different only in terms of total area of 
production. As one out of the three measurable indicators are significantly different between cohorts 
at the 1% level, it is determined that the producers who started at the beginning of the RECOLTE 
project are not statistically different than the producers who began in later seasons. However, the 
criteria for being a beneficiary was the same for both cohorts, and those criteria requirements could 
affect the outcomes of the program itself. 
2.4. Evaluation Limitations 
The evaluation team acknowledges difficulties in collecting data, including in accessing certain 
intervention zones and identifying sampled producers. The evaluation was held during the rainy 
season, which rendered many roads impassable. Thus, some sites in the intervention zones were 
difficult to access, or, in some cases, totally inaccessible. This slowed the pace of data collection. 
While the sampled producers were selected from the project database of all project beneficiaries, the 
reality was that when the enumerators went to interview them, some selected beneficiaries were 
difficult to find or unavailable. With the assistance of the Organic Technical Agents (ATB), the 
evaluation team selected replacements among the available producers using the same sampling 
21
method. The non-response rate was considered in the calculations for sample. Thus, the sample size 
was increased and replacements were not necessary in many cases. 
Despite these challenges, the overall non-response rate remained low. The response rate data is 
visualized in Chart 8. For Cohort 1, out of 418 selected producers, 406 were interviewed, thus creating 
a non-response rate of less than 2%. For Cohort 2, out of 386 sampled producers, 369 producers were 
surveyed with a non-response rate of less than 4%. These two rates are much lower than the initial 
assumption of a 10% non-response rate. These results imply that the indicators calculated from the 
data are reliable and therefore can be used to evaluate the project. 
Chart 8: Quantitative survey response rate
ZONE
Cohort 1 Cohort 2
Selected Interviewed
Response rate 
(%)
Selected Interviewed
Response rate 
(%)
BANFORA 33 33 100 33 29 88
FADA 93 92 99 60 56 93
IOBA 44 43 98 33 27 82
NAYALA 52 53 1022 123 120 98
OUBRITENGA 33 29 88 33 32 97
TENKODOGO 130 123 95 71 73 103
ZIRO 33 33 100 33 32 97
TOTAL 418 406 97 386 369 96
OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION CONTEXT AND KEY 
ASSUMPTIONS
Programmatic Context
3.1.1. Commodity Management Context
RECOLTE project funding is based on a monetization plan in accordance with USDA. CRS based its plan 
for the first year of activities on a call-forward in December 2013, which would release program funds 
for use in May 2014. This would have enabled the start-up of key production activities, such as the 
establishment of the seed multiplication and foundation seed farms. These farms were to provide 
seeds for the first cohort of 1,200 producers in the second year of the project. Unfortunately, the 
monetization sale contract was not signed until May 27, 2014. At that time, CRS initially received a 
$372,000 check from the monetization buyer, Group Velegda SARL. In June 2014, CRS received the 
final payment which covered the rest of the costs for the entire shipment. The shortfall in the project 
activity budget was $316,740. However, with the pre-financing secured, CRS worked with UNPCB to
closely monitor INERA as they started seed multiplication activities.
 
2 There is a 102% response rate as 53 instead of 52 beneficiaries were interviewed
22
3.1.2. Country Level Political and Social Context
3.1.2.1. Relevant policies and laws in Burkina Faso
The government of Burkina Faso has several development policies that are relevant and supportive of 
the key objectives of the RECOLTE project. A brief description of those relevant policies, including 
subsections, follows.
3.1.2.1.1. Sustainable Development and Accelerated Growth Strategy (SCADD)
This Government of Burkina Faso strategy includes two themes relevant to Project RECOLTE. Theme 1, 
“Developing growth pillars,” which concerns (i) the development of production chains and promotion 
of niche markets; (ii) the promotion of pro-poor growth; (iii) the development of priority sectors; and 
(iv) the promotion of economic integration and external trade. Theme 2, “Development of human 
capital and social protection” includes employment and income growth, as well as technical and 
vocational training. 
3.1.2.1.2. National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES)
The PNDES includes several strategic objectives that are relevant for the RECOLTE project:
• Strategic Objective 2.4 – Promoting decent employment and social protection for all, especially 
for young people and women.
• Strategic Objective 3.1 – Sustainably develop a productive and resilient agro-forestry, pastoral, 
and fisheries sector, more market-oriented and based on the principles of sustainable 
development. 
• Strategic Objective 3.3 – Promote trade and expand value-added services industries that 
create decent jobs.
• Strategic Objective 3.5 – Reverse the trend of environmental degradation and ensure the 
sustainable management of natural and environmental resources.
3.1.2.1.3. National Council of Organic Agriculture (CNAbio) and agro-sylvo-pastoral law
There is currently no policy or strategy for organic agricultural production in Burkina Faso; however, 
there is a document concerning organic farming standards, written by the National Council of Organic
Agriculture (CNAbio). The CNAbio standards focus on the development of organic production and trade 
in Burkina Faso, including issues that can be used in negotiation of international standards. There is 
also an agro-sylvo-pastoral law (Law No070-2015/CNT October 22, 2015) that provides the principle 
guidelines for the sustainable development of these natural resources, including agro-forestry and 
wildlife activities.
3.1.3 Regional Level Political and Social Context
One of the critical assumptions in the RECOLTE project design was that stability and peace within 
Burkina Faso and its neighboring countries, particularly Mali and Niger, would continue. However, this 
assumption has been tested several times as political and security issues have impacted project 
activities.
The first instance was the popular uprising that led to the long-time President of Burkina Faso’s 
departure in October 2014. Related to this uprising, UNPCB board members held a strike in Bobo￾Dioulasso, asking the then-current UNPCB President to step down. This show of no confidence split the 
organization into two opposing camps, resulting in instability that slowed down implementation of
RECOLTE activities. At the time of the midterm data collection, the situation had not been resolved, 
but at the time of writing the report, it has been resolved. 
The second challenge related to peace and security was the failed coup d’état in mid-September 2015. 
Burkina Faso’s borders closed and a general strike led to a halt of all operations throughout the 
country, including the entire RECOLTE project. In addition to slowing down and stopping the regular 
operations of project activities, the coup prevented the RECOLTE team from attending two extremely 
23
strategic international cotton marketing and promotion events for which RECOLTE had secured USDA 
approval: one in France, and the other in India.
3.1.4. Implementation Assumptions 
Loss of buyer
Limited Brands, UNPCB’s sole buyer at the beginning of the project, ended their purchasing agreement 
in late 2015. This presented a significant challenge for the RECOLTE project and lowered the price of 
organic seed cotton received by the producers. The arrangement with Limited Brands was not a typical 
arrangement in the cotton supply chain, and is therefore not expected to be replicated with any new 
organic cotton buyer. Limited Brands had paid for all activities along the supply chain beyond the farm 
gate, including processing of the seed cotton, ginning and analyses, transportation from the ginning 
plant to the port and logistics of shipping the cotton fiber bales to the port of destination. The loss of 
such an arrangement directly affected the operations of the producers’ union, as well as the producers
themselves, as they needed to learn how to manage these activities themselves and identify new 
buyers.
Cotton Price and Producer Enrollment
Two critical assumptions within the programming context were challenged: 1) the price of cotton will 
remain favorable for producers, and 2) new producers will continue to enroll in organic cotton 
producer groups each year. 
The price of organic cotton has decreased since the design of the RECOLTE project. Limited Brands had 
purchased organic cotton at 375 FCFA/kg rather than the industry standard rate of 325 FCFA/kg. With 
the loss of the Limited Brands contract, UNPCB producers lost their higher price, which impacted the 
projected increases in revenue for RECOLTE producers. 
At project design, it was projected that producers would join organic cotton producer groups each year
at an increasing rate. It was planned to have 900 new producers in Year 1, and 2,100 in Year 2, and 
1,500 in Year 3. However, this has not been the case, with some producers joining and leaving the 
groups at many points during the past 2.5 years of the project, and actual numbers of group members 
being less than anticipated. For the 2014/2015 year, there was a net additional 1,225 producers, yet 
for the 2015/2016 year, a net of 63 producers joined the program. Producers leave and join throughout 
the farming seasons.
3.1.4. Ecological Assumptions
The initial projections of harvest yields assumed the target zones would experience a normal amount 
of rain each season. However, during the 2015-2016 growing season, rains arrived a month later than 
expected. For a high quality and quantity organic cotton harvest, 4 months of rain is needed; in the 
2015-2016 growing season, there were 2.5-3 months of rain. This delayed the planting time and 
shortened the cultivation period, impacting the quality and quantity of the harvest. Harvest tonnage 
dropped by 36% for organic cotton, while conventional cotton dropped by 40% for some companies.
EVALUATION FINDINGS 
4.1 Producer Demographic Characteristics (Cohorts 1 & 2) 
Household size
The total population living in the households of the sampled producers is estimated at 6,945 (4,011 for 
Cohort 1 and 2,934 for Cohort 2), with an average of 9 persons per producer household. The cohort 
24
distribution reveals that the average number of people living in households in Cohort 1 (9.8) is higher 
than that in Cohort 2 (7.9). These sizes differ from the average size of rural households in Burkina Faso, 
which stands at 6.5. Large households are the most affected by poverty, as confirmed by the 2015 
National Institute of Statistics and Demography of Burkina Faso. This difference could be because the 
survey focuses on only a specific section of the population (organic cotton producers), which is not an 
exact representation of the population of Burkina Faso.
The difference observed between the average sizes of the two cohorts could be explained by the fact 
that the proportion of female heads (12%) in Cohort 2 is higher than that of Cohort 1. Male heads of 
household are often polygamous and are responsible for children of more than one wife, while women 
heads of household are only considered responsible for their children.
Age and gender of heads of households
The age of the head of the household is important in any socio-economic survey because it is generally 
correlated with many other variables such as marital status, health, and other important indicators. In 
this study, the age of heads of households ranges from 21 to 93 years with an average age of 43 years. 
There is a strong dispersion, as evidenced by the standard deviation, which is very high, of 12.7 years.
Among organic cotton producers, only about one in ten women are heads of households. In terms of 
age, they are older (51 years on average) compared to men (46 years on average). Additionally, these 
women are mostly widowed (83%). 
Main Livelihoods
Agriculture is the main activity of organic cotton producers. In addition to agriculture, all respondents
declare trade as a principle livelihood activity. About 40% of producers practice animal husbandry. 
Other activities such as crafts and fishing occupy a very small number of producers.
4.2 Intervention Relevance and Strategic Fit
The RECOLTE project has considered the economic and political context of Burkina Faso and the 
organic cotton industry when developing and implementing its approach. RECOLTE targets smallholder 
producers in Burkina Faso, particularly women – a population with high rates of poverty and who have 
historically received fewer socio-productive resources. These organic cotton producers depend on 
agriculture for their livelihood strategy. The project fits within the Government of Burkina Faso’s 
economic and agricultural development policies and programs, which also focus on vulnerable rural 
households (see section 3.1.2.1 above). The cotton sector and poverty alleviation are of high interest 
to the Government, and the RECOLTE project’s components are in line with these interests. 
The project also considers the cultural context in rural Burkina Faso. For example, CRS and UNPCB 
identified minor adjustments to some activities to better fit the context of the target beneficiary group, 
such as adjusting the equipment and input subsidy to target individual producers in 2015 in order to 
better benefit women, rather than target equipment subsidy to farmer groups who do not always 
equitably share resources with disadvantaged women producers. The evaluation team considers that 
these general modifications made to the project activities will enhance the outcomes.
There were multiple factors behind the decision to redirect the equipment strategy towards 
individualized support: inequity due to gender-based decision making, low productivity for women, 
and addressing vulnerability in participants’ households. When the project began, the equipment 
strategy focused on producer groups, where producers would share the use of the equipment. It 
became apparent after the first farming season (2014/2015) that men, especially the most high￾ranking ones, were the first to use the equipment for not only their organic cotton production, but all 
their fields. This led to women not gaining access to the tools until much later in the season, and heavily 
discouraged their productivity and participation. To ensure fair access and to avoid perpetuating 
25
gender discrimination, continued vulnerability, and to support a profitable harvest for women, CRS 
concluded the necessity to change the targeting, and implemented the change in the 2015/2016 
farming season.
The project also supports UNPCB in meeting the potential growth in demand for organic cotton. 
RECOLTE plays an important role in supporting UNPCB during the adjustments after the loss of Limited 
Brands as sole buyer. UNPCB must now adjust to the needs of new buyers to sell the organic cotton 
on the international market for a standard price. The evaluation team considers that the adjustments 
that RECOLTE made to their activities to better assist UNPCB with value chain upgrading and 
international marketing are key to project results.
The surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions reveal an overall favorable perspective of most 
RECOLTE activities among beneficiaries and project stakeholders, especially for technical assistance 
and workshops. The intervention approach is seen to be holistic, involving many activities that support 
the livelihoods of the producers. 
4.2 Adequacy and Efficiency of Resource Utilization
In general, the RECOLTE project did not record enough activities during the first year of 
implementation. Therefore, the efficiency analysis only concerns the period 2015-2016.
Cost analysis by producer
The costs per beneficiary include: capacity building for producers on improved organic cotton 
production techniques, governance techniques and management of production units and various 
other modules through training. Other practical actions have also been realized thanks to the
investment. These include the distribution of seeds, support for the creation of manure pits, the 
establishment of seed farms and other actions aimed at improving the marketing of cotton to 
producers, including participation in fairs and round tables with buyers.
During the 2015-2016 period, the project experienced a decrease in the number of beneficiaries, and 
is reflected in the efficiency indicators. In fact, from 8,457 beneficiaries in 2015, this number declined
to 7,793 in 2016, a decrease of 7.85%. The overall cost of the activities was thus affected with a 
decrease of 2.16%. As a result, the project lost economies of scale, raising the average total cost per 
recipient from $180.71 in 2015 to $191.87 in 2016, an increase of 6.17%.
Under the same conditions and implementation approaches, if the RECOLTE project succeeds in 
enlisting the 10,000 target producers as planned by the end of the project, it will decrease costs per 
beneficiary from $191.87 to $149 per producer, which is a 22.3% difference. The overall cost will 
increase, but as economies of scale will be achieved, the cost per beneficiary will decrease. 
The analysis shows that the project would have been able to reduce its costs per beneficiary by varying 
approaches to implementing activities. It is important to note, though, that some activities, such as 
the acquisition of space for seed farms in 2015, encountered obstacles that led to several expenses, 
which has increased the costs per beneficiary. The calculations, although not taking into account the 
depreciation factor of equipment and fixed assets over time, suggest a significant decrease in costs 
over the years. It is worthwhile to note that the equipment and fixed assets have contributed to the 
increase of cost per beneficiary in 2016.
UNPCB should intensify follow-ups on trainings with producers to limit annual re-trainings as much as 
possible. These re-trainings led to high supervision costs for the CRS team in 2016.
Costs related to Green Cross support in composting activities were high in 2016, at $20,756. 
Strengthening organic compost production capacity at the producer level will limit related costs.
26
The purchase of a permanent truck at the UNPCB level would also have reduced the cost of seed 
distribution, particularly in view of its use with the installation of a ginning plant dedicated to organic 
cotton. But in the meantime, it will be better to plan and negotiate the implementation of the program 
to reduce costs for seeds and other inputs.
Cost-benefit analysis
In terms of cost-benefit analysis, the analysis shows that total production of organic cotton has been 
in line with the number of beneficiaries producing over the project period. With a unit price of organic 
seed cotton of 375 FCFA/kg 2
, the RECOLTE project activities have made it possible for producers to 
benefit from a production value of $877,500 in 2015 and $785,850 in 2016. This is equivalent to $104 
per beneficiary in 2015 to $101 per beneficiary in 2016.
The analysis shows that if the price of seed cotton for producers had not changed, the project activities,
at a cost per beneficiary of $180, would have generated about $104 per beneficiary in 2015. In 2016, 
a return rate of 57.55% would have increased to 60.48% (a $116 on a unit investment of $191).
Clearly, if the price to the producer had not decreased as it did in 2016, the rate of return of the project 
would have increased by nearly 3% despite a decline in the number of producers of 7.85%. This decline 
in number of producers decreased project activity costs, but increased the cost per beneficiary. 
Considering the decline of 13.33% (from 375 to 325 FCFA/kg) of the producer price of seed cotton in 
2016, the rate of return in 2016 was 52.66%, a decrease of 5% compared to 2015. This is despite the 
decrease in the number of producers of 7.85%.
The raw analysis thus shows that the project has yielded results that limit the loss in profitability that 
the project would have otherwise suffered with bottlenecks in the cost control. RECOLTE should 
continue to intensify production at the producer level to improve farmers' agricultural productivity.
For the project to achieve an ROI of at least 100%, actions to achieve economies of scale in project 
activities should be considered. Additionally, the project can do more to improve sale prices to organic 
cotton buyers. The project has encountered a lot of obstacles in marketing cotton, which greatly 
impacts the price to producers. Depending on the purchasing client, the total profit could be more 
favorable when comparted to other countries like Mali and Benin and compared to conventional 
cotton. The project will therefore benefit more by continuing its efforts to remove these constraints in 
the sale of organic cotton which have led to unsold inventories and the decline in the price on the 
international market.
Chart 9. Cost-Effectiveness and Benefit Analysis
Year 2015 2016 Growth rate
(%)
Number of enrolled producers 8457 7793 -7.87
COSTS
Total Costs ($) 1,528,294.57 1,495,225.77 -2.2
Total costs per participant ($) 180.71 191.87 +6.2
PRICES
Purchase unit price to the producer(XOF3
) 375 325 -13.33
COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Production volume (MT) of bio-cotton 1170 1209 N/A
Value of production ($) producer using the 
reporting year price 877,500 785,850 N/A
Value of production ($) using the 2015 year price 877,500 906,750 N/A
 
3 500 XOF= 1$
27
Average value of production ($) per producer 
using the reporting year price 104 101 -2.88
Average value of production ($) per producer 
using the 2015 year price 104 116 11.54
Cost-benefit ratio (value of production per 
producer/total cost per beneficiary*100) using 
the reporting year price
57.55 52.66 N/A
Cost-benefit ratio (value of production per 
producer/total cost per beneficiary*100) using 
the 2015 year price
57.55 60.48 N/A
4.3 Effectiveness and Impacts of the Intervention
Considering the effectiveness and impact of the RECOLTE project, the evaluation team considers that 
the project is on track to meet the development objectives, despite not having met all targets at 
midterm. 
Organic cotton yields have been variable, due in part to the delayed rainy season and thus late sowing 
period. At the mid-term, there are no statistically significant changes in producers’ productivity. The 
evaluation team considers this result to be expected, as it can take longer than two years of 
intervention to see sustainable changes in yields; the evaluation team would expect to see 
improvements in yield at endline.
Cohort 1 producers had higher organic cotton yields and incomes than Cohort 2 producers at midterm, 
although the t-test demonstrates that these differences are not statistically significant. This suggests 
that although the longer participation in the project has allowed producers to become more 
established, there is not a significant difference between producers who began earlier or later in terms 
of cotton yields and incomes. The evaluation team suggests strengthening project activities related to 
rotational crops, including marketing, to further increase revenue. 
An important signal of RECOLTE’s effectiveness and impact is the increased rate of women joining the 
project. What was originally forecasted to be 30% women is now 52% women. The inclusiveness and 
adjustments that the RECOLTE project has made demonstrate that the project is effective in supporting
the economic livelihoods of poor women in Burkina Faso. Women face high barriers to entry into 
conventional cotton production, which is dominated by men. However, the RECOLTE project has 
assisted in making space for women to be able to participate in organic cotton production, which has 
lower barriers to entry with its lower input requirements and higher sale price. The revolving fund set 
up by CRS and UNPCB with the funds from Limited Brands increases impact for women even further, 
supporting women in other economic activities.
Lessons learned for cost efficiency
• Intensifying the training follow-up of the producers by the UNPCB will help limit the costs of the 
project;
• A purchase of a truck for the transport of seed or seed cotton for ginning would limit the costs of 
the project;
• Intensifying producer productivity will improve the social profitability of the project;
• The diversification of the number of buyers of organic cotton in Burkina will allow the sector to 
achieve high internal rates of return.
28
The evaluation team explored the project’s impact on the livelihoods of producer families in the
qualitative interviews. Most producer groups interviewed shared stories of increased food security, 
financial resiliency, housing upgrades, and health and education that have become accessible due to 
their increased revenues, even though the midterm quantitative data did not show such increases. The 
evaluation team would expect to see quantitative indication of increased revenues at the endline.
During focus group interviews, producers also cited positive changes in their communities due to their 
participation in the RECOLTE project. One such change at a community level is the use of the FairTrade 
premium for community investments. Producer groups receive a part of the FairTrade premium after 
the sale of their cotton, and this money is used on community-identified social development projects. 
For example, the organic cotton producer group in the Comoe province uses their 
FairTrade premium to pay the school fees of all participating members’ children. The group 
in village uses their premium as a source for emergency funds, thus contributing to improved
resiliency to shocks and stressors.
The number of individual direct and indirect beneficiaries reached by the project remains on track, 
with 8,382 direct beneficiaries and 64,160 indirect. These numbers represent producers that have 
benefited from RECOLTE project activities, including those who later left the project, for reasons 
discussed earlier in the report. This represents an 80% achievement rate for direct beneficiaries and 
128% achievement rate for indirect.
For more information on the progress of project implementation, all activities and indicators referred 
to are in Annexes 5 and 6. The midterm activities achievement rates give insight into the progress of 
the project implementation. For activity indicators, yearly target achievement rates are included, and 
for outcome indicators, overall achievement rates are provided. 
4.3.1. Strategic Objective 1: Increased agricultural productivity
The RECOLTE project’s activities associated with SO1 have been developed to provide a holistic 
approach to increase agricultural productivity. In order to increase agricultural productivity, the project 
has worked to improve land and water resources, has provided training on and improved access to
agricultural techniques and technologies including improved inputs, and provided training on 
improved farm management, including support to improve infrastructure for on-farm production and
access to financial services(see Annex 1 for the results framework). This section will present the results 
related to SO1’s indicators and activities.
The agricultural productivity activities and indicators were developed with four critical assumptions in 
mind:
(i) The rainy season will be normal in target areas
(ii) The price of inputs will remain favorable
(iii) The price of seed cotton will be favorable for producers
(iv) Pest infestations will be appropriately managed
Assumptions (i) and (iii) have both been challenged during the lifetime of the project. As described 
previously, the rains arrived a month late during the 2015-2016 cotton farming season. This impacted 
the production of organic cotton, both in yield and in quality. Additionally, the price of seed cotton and 
its favorability towards producers has been challenged with the withdrawal of Limited Brands’ 
purchase agreement with UNPCB that caused the price of seed cotton per kilogram to decrease from 
375 FCFA/kg to 325 FCFA/kg. This price remains higher than conventional cotton, but still results in a 
decrease in revenues for participating producers. 
Contributions to increased agricultural productivity
29
According to the project framework for the RECOLTE project, increased agricultural productivity is 
measured through: (i) an increase in the average yield of organic cotton per hectare; (ii) an increase in 
the average value of production per hectare; and (iii) an increase in the average surface area sown in 
hectares per producer. 
Midterm data indicates that agricultural productivity and value of production per hectare have not 
increased among producers since the baseline. In fact, the average yield of organic cotton has 
decreased by 35.6% and the average value of production per hectare has decreased by 34%. A major 
contributor to this decrease in agricultural productivity and value was the poor rainfall during the 
planting season. Additionally, data collection occurred before the 2016/2017 harvest was complete;
thus, the midterm data reflects only two production seasons during the life of the project.
The third measurement, an increase in the average surface area sown in hectares per producer, has 
changed as a target for increased agricultural productivity since the beginning of the project. At 
midterm, the average area cultivated per producer remains much lower than the target, at 0.6 
ha/producer (on average, 0.98 ha for men and 0.55 ha for women). This is because of the increased 
participation of women in the RECOLTE project, who, due to cultural gender norms, have less access 
to land and thus smaller parcels of lands to cultivate. CRS and UNPCB suggest that measuring surface 
area is not a realistic target for increasing productivity of organic cotton among the project’s targeted 
farmers. 
Outcome indicators 
Cotton harvest in kg/ha is targeted at 600 kg/ha, with a baseline of 470 kg/ha and a midterm result of 
287 kg/ha. This is due to a difficult 2015/2016 harvest year. Late rains shortened the farming period, 
with too few months of rain for good cotton growing conditions. Inputs, such as certified organic cotton 
seeds, were delayed and were not sown at the ideal time. Thus, the yield was negatively impacted.
The monetary value per hectare of cotton production dropped from 152,000 FCFA/ha to 107,625 
FCFA/ha. This is still a high price; as organic cotton has more value per kilogram. Yet, the low yield led 
to low value per hectare of production.
As discussed above, the average area cultivated per producer (ha) has not met its target for 1 ha. This 
is due to the increase in women participants, who have lower access to land. Thus, the average area 
remains 0.6 ha, and the target of 1 ha is suggested to no longer be a realistic target for increasing the 
productivity of organic cotton among the project’s targeted farmers. 
In calculating the agricultural production outcome indicators at the midterm, 242 of the 775 producers 
sampled and surveyed for this indicator were not included in the data analysis. This included 240 
producers who did not know the area of their farm in hectares and were therefore excluded from the 
analysis, as well as 2 producers who did not know the value of their production per hectare in FCFA 
and were also excluded from the analysis.
Average yield
As seen in Chart 10, average organic cotton yield was 393 kg/ha at baseline, while at the midterm, it 
was 252.9 kg/ha – a decrease of 35.6% and well below the project target of 600 kg/ha. This decrease 
in organic cotton production from baseline can be explained in part due to the poor rainfall during this 
period. Late rains shortened the farming season, with too few months of rain for good cotton growing
conditions. The irregular rainy season lasted 2.5-3 months, while a full cycle from sowing to maturity 
requires four months of rain. This impacted conventional cotton as well: one conventional cotton 
company reported a 40% decrease in yield in the 2015/2016 season. UNPCB also faced delays in 
providing certified organic cotton seeds to producers, resulting in the cotton crop not being sown at 
the ideal time. As a result, yield and production dropped.
30
Chart 10. Average yield (kg/ha) of agricultural products at baseline and midterm by cohort, zone,
and sex
The cohort analysis reveals that average organic cotton yield was slightly higher for Cohort 1 (265 
kg/ha) than for Cohort 2 (235 kg/ha). The t-test revealed that organic cotton yields between the two 
Cohorts are not statistically different in terms of characteristics that could affect the outcomes of 
interest, thus the difference in terms of average organic cotton yield could be due to the contribution 
of RECOLTE. This difference between the two cohorts could be due to the RECOLTE project as the 
longer period of program participation, long term adoption of farming practices, and skill gained for 
Cohort 1 could contribute to higher average value of production.
Average yields per hectare were also higher at mid-term for women (266.2 kg/ha) than for men (245.8 
kg/ha). This is in contrast to the situation at baseline, which showed men having higher yields than 
women (428 kg/ha versus 290 kg/ha). The production gap between men and women has decreased at 
midterm, and while men and women both faced decreases in production at midterm compared to 
baseline as described above, women’s decreases were less substantial than men’s.
The Comoe and Boulgou regions have the highest average organic cotton production considering 
baseline and midterm results, with 454 kg/ha and 473 kg/ha at baseline, respectively, while the Ziro 
and Nayala regions both experienced increasing yields from baseline to midterm unlike the other 
regions that all experienced decreasing yields.
The Ziro region had increasing yields from baseline to midterm as it is situated in southern Burkina 
Faso, at the Ghanaian border. This region receives more rain than the other production zones, and the 
2015 shortened rainy season did not have the same timeline in Ziro in particular. 621 390 284 509 375402 361
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C O M O É I O B A N A Y A L A B O U L G O U G O U R M A O U B R I T E N G A Z I R O C O H O R T 1 C O H O R T 2 T O T A L
AVERAGE YIELD OF ORGANIC COTTON KG/HA AT 
BASELINE AND MIDTERM
Baseline Male Baseline Female Baseline Total Midterm Male Midterm Female Midterm Total
31
Chart 11. Average surface area cultivated at midterm per producer by cohort, sex, zone, and crop
The average surface area (ha) cultivated by producer is 0.77 ha. Through the cohort analysis, Cohort 1 
has an average of 0.88 ha per producer, while Cohort 2 has an average of 0.64 ha per producer. 
To further understand the difference between the two cohorts, one must consider the average area 
cultivated per producer by gender. Overall, men cultivate an average of 0.98 ha, while women cultivate 
on average 0.55 ha. Most of the new producers in Cohort 2 are women, who have less access to land 
than men, thus making the average size of cultivated land less than the original project goal of 1 ha. 
The new producers that make up Cohort 2 have been predominately women who not only have 
cultural boundaries in land access, but also to the size of land that they can cultivate. The decreased 
surface area is thus a representation of the increased participation of women in the RECOLTE project. 
Average value of production per hectare
At midterm, the value of organic cotton production per hectare was a 94,547 FCFA/ha compared to
the baseline value of 147,377 FCFA per hectare for organic cotton. The target for the endline is 195,000 
FCFA. 1.11
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C O H O R T 1 C O H O R T 2 C O M O E I O B A N A Y A L A B O U L G O U G O U R M AO U B R I T E N G A Z I R O O V E R A L L
AVERAGE SURFACE AREA (HA) CULTIVATED AT 
MIDTERM
Male Female Overall
32
Chart 12. Average value of production in FCFA/ha at baseline and midterm per sex, zone, and crop
Overall, Cohort 1 had a higher average value of production per hectare than Cohort 2, with 98,004 
FCFA/ha and 88,978 FCFA/ha respectively. On average, producers in Cohort 1 have a production value 
of 86,244 FCFA from organic cotton, while producers in Cohort 2 have an average production value
56,946 FCFA from organic cotton. However, while men’s value of production was lower in Cohort 1 
than Cohort 2, women’s value of production was slightly higher. This difference between the two 
cohorts could be due to the RECOLTE project as Cohort 1 has higher average yield and thus higher 
average value of production, which could be attributed to longer term participation and skill building 
in the project. 
On average, women were earning 32% less than men at baseline, with 108,811 FCFA/ha earned by 
women compared to 160,395 FCFA/ha earned by men. However, at midterm, as with the yields 
described above, this income gap has decreased and women at midterm earned 10% more than men 
overall (101,144 FCFA/ha for women and 90,995 FCFA/ha for males). This is even more pronounced in 
Cohort 2, where women have 21.9% higher yields than men. This positive improvement in women’s 
incomes could be due to the project’s activities to overcome barriers to women’s access to productive 
inputs; for example, distributing farming tools directly to producers rather than to producer 
organizations, thus improving women’s access to the tools and promoting higher agricultural 
productivity among women. This will be discussed in further depth later in the report.
The production zones with the highest average value of production are Comoe (130,757 FCFA/ha) and 
Boulgou (177,276 FCFA/ha), which are also the zones with the highest average yields per hectare.
However, these regions also experienced very sharp decreases in value per hectare at midterm 
compared to baseline. However, as with the yields, Ziro and Nayala had higher average value of 
production at midterm compared to baseline, while the other regions had decreasing average value 
from baseline to midterm. As discussed earlier, Ziro is situated in a rainier region of Burkina Faso.
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C O M O É I O B A N A Y A L A B O U L G O U G O U R M A O U B R I T E N G A Z I R O C O H O R T 1 C O H O R T 2 O V E R A L L
AVERAGE VALUE OF PRODUCTION IN FCFA/HA AT BASELINE 
AND MIDTERM
Baseline Male Baseline Female Baseline Overall
Midterm (declared by producer) Male Midterm (declared by producer) Female Midterm (declared by producer) Overall
33
Several factors influenced the overall decrease in the average value of production per hectare from 
baseline to midterm. The first was the decrease in the prices received by the producers due to the loss 
of the special premium that had been provided by Limited Brands. Once their purchasing agreement 
was terminated, the price of organic cotton for producers decreased leading to lower value per hectare 
of production. As described above, the factors related to the late rains and the delayed inputs also 
impacted production and thus revenue for the producers. Additionally, UNPCB paid producers later 
than usual due to difficulties they faced to secure the necessary bank loan. 
Average surface area cultivated 
As previously stated, the project objective was to increase the surface area cultivated to 1 ha per 
producer. However, at midterm, the average surface area (ha) cultivated by producer is 0.77 ha. 
Chart 11. Average surface area cultivated at midterm per producer by cohort, sex, zone, and crop
As stated above, producers in Cohort 1 cultivate an average of 0.88 ha of organic cotton, while
producers in Cohort 2 cultivate an average of 0.64 ha. Overall, men cultivate an average of 0.98 ha, 
while women cultivate on average 0.55 ha. Cohort 2’s lower values for average surface area cultivated 
are influenced by the fact that most of the new producers in Cohort 2 are women, who have smaller
land plots than men. As described above, women not only face cultural constraints to land access in 
general, but also limitations in the size of parcels that they can cultivate. The fact that the surface area 
objective of 1 ha/producer has not been met is thus related to the increased participation of women 
and other vulnerable producers in the RECOLTE project, and not an indication that these vulnerable 
producers have not improved their production capacity.
The data presented here for increased agricultural production in terms of average yield, surface area, 
and value of production show that the overall project objectives for these three indicators have not 
yet been achieved at midterm. The evaluation team maintains that this is not due to a poor strategic 
fit of the project to the context, but rather to external influential factors, such as the inadequate rains 
during this project period and other factors described above. 1.11 0.83 0.87 0.7
1
0.74
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C O H O R T 1 C O H O R T 2 C O M O E I O B A N A Y A L A B O U L G O U G O U R M AO U B R I T E N G A Z I R O O V E R A L L
AVERAGE SURFACE AREA (HA) CULTIVATED AT 
MIDTERM
Male Female Overall
34
Increased use of improved agricultural techniques and technologies
The use of improved agricultural techniques and technologies is encouraged throughout RECOLTE 
project activities. These include:
• Crop rotation
• Regulations for organic production and commercialization
• Identifying and preparing appropriate land 
• Seed and crop management
• Harvest and post-harvest techniques
• Regulations for GMO contamination 
• Water and soil conservation practices, for example: zai, stone barriers, half-moons, earthen 
dams, mulching, compost, crop rotation, agroforestry, live fencing and grassy hedges
The techniques have been disseminated through trainings and the use of demonstration plots.
Trainings include organic farming and FairTrade principles, awareness and prevention of child labor, 
cotton production, organic pesticide use and treatment, and harvest and post-harvest techniques. 
Each year, UNPCB organizes three training sessions for organic cotton producers. The trainings follow 
a cascade format: the Zone Chiefs are trained by UNPCB, CRS, and INERA on organic cotton production,
financial management and agricultural technologies, and seeds, respectively. In turn, the Zone Chiefs
train the Organic Field Agents who in turn train the producers. Producer-level trainings are led by each 
Organic Field Agent, with support from the Zone Chief, using demonstration plots. The trainings are 
typically held between June and October, to have flexibility with the planting season. Additionally, 
Organic Field Agents hold repetitions throughout the year as part of their monitoring activities. 
Demonstration plots are led by a model producer. During the agricultural season, producers visit the 
demonstration plots and receive hands-on training on the following agricultural techniques: 
application of organic fertilizer, spacing during sowing, application of ‘batik’ organic pesticide, 
comparison between organic pesticides ‘batik’, ‘helitex’, and ‘metamix’, and other organic practices to 
enhance cotton production. 
The batik organic pesticide is made by Saphyto, a natural input company in Burkina Faso. Batik is a 
product that conforms to organic standards via Europe (CE) and the US (NOP). It’s made up of the 
bacteria bacillua thurigiensis, a bacterium that improves the soil’s nutrients and protects it from pests.
At midterm, 6,243 producers are using improved techniques and technologies, thus achieving 78% of 
the outcome goal of 8,000. This is on-track to achieve 100% of the goal by the end of the project. 
Additionally, 3,792 ha are under improved technologies, achieving 63% of the 6,000 ha outcome goal.
Training and use of new technologies and techniques
New technologies and techniques for agricultural production were among the most highlighted 
benefits of the RECOLTE project in the producers’ focus group discussions. The adoption of the 
agricultural technologies and techniques were verified via site observations. Virtually all interviewed 
producers are pleased with the promoted technologies and have found that the techniques improve 
their organic cotton production. In contrast to the midterm production yield data, producers in the 
focus groups share the perspective that the techniques have improved the productivity of their cotton, 
and have increased their dedication to continue producing organic cotton and rotating crops according 
to the organic certification regulations.
Producers cite three main constraints to using the agricultural production techniques and 
technologies: timing of seed availability, sufficient compost, and gender roles. 
35
Regarding input availability, the certified organic seeds that are made available to producers from 
INERA have been delayed during the two sowing periods that have occurred during the life of the 
project. Delayed seeds availability results in delayed sowing, which ultimately impacts the quality and 
quantity of organic cotton harvested. This problem was a common complaint in the focus groups.
Regarding compost production, there is a contradiction between the quantitative data and the focus 
group information. 100% of producers surveyed have been trained in compost production by Green 
Cross, and 100% report using the pit compost technology to produce organic fertilizer. Yet, information 
gathered in the focus group surveys reveal that compost availability is a major constraint, with access 
to water cited as the main constraint to compost production. Producer groups note that water 
required for compost production is either not available, or at such a distance from their compost pits 
that transporting water to the pit is not considered an efficient use of time and labor. While compost 
use has been shown to increase organic cotton production, it is recommended that the project address 
this contradiction to find if limited compost production is a barrier to this objective. 
Most significantly, focus group participants noted gender as the biggest constraint to access to 
resources for agricultural productivity. Each producer group discussed with interviewers the 
constraints women face to access resources to implement the techniques and technologies. Women 
consistently access tools last as men have priority use of household agricultural tools such as labor 
animals and carts for harvest collection and transport. As women often borrow land from their 
husbands, they also have less autonomy over continued access to the land. 
It is interesting to note, however, that women have higher rates of use of some improved agricultural 
techniques and technologies than men (Charts 14 and 15). Overall, application rates are similar 
between men and women, with women slightly higher according to the midterm evaluation survey: 
91% of women and 87% of men use improved agricultural techniques (Chart 14). 
Among the production zones, all zones have high rates of producers applying new agricultural 
techniques and technologies. The exceptions to this are Oubritenga, with 68.9% of producers using 
new techniques, and Ziro, where 60% of producers are using the techniques.
Almost all producers have been trained in live fencing and composting techniques through the 
RECOLTE project (Chart 13), whereas other trainings have much lower rates of participation. The 
RECOLTE project team has recognized that the knowledge level of producers after the first two years 
of training showed serious gaps, and thus will be implementing a new training strategy starting in 
November 2016, which will help to achieve the goals of 8,000 producers applying improved 
techniques.
36
Chart 13. Percentage of producers that have been trained on new techniques and technologies by 
midterm
The technologies and techniques used to improve organic cotton production are many. The following 
two charts indicate the percent of producers who use organic cotton production techniques. Chart 14
includes techniques that are particular to cotton production, while Chart 15 refers to techniques 
applicable to crops more generally. 
Chart 14 demonstrates the percent of producers who use organic cotton production techniques at the 
midterm. The techniques that the producers are trained on include organic cotton production 
regulations, identifying and preparing land, seed and crop maintenance, harvesting techniques, 
commercialization regulations, and avoiding contamination between Bt and organic cotton. These 
techniques are crucial to production of organic cotton that is compliant with certification standards. 
35%
40%
37%
69% 70% 69%
100% 100% 100%
33%
40%
36%
2% 2% 2%
100% 100% 100%
26% 28% 27%
53% 57% 55%
21%
28%
25%
5% 0%
31%
34% 32%
62% 63% 63%
28%
33% 31%
3% 1% 2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall
Trained in at least 2
water and soil
conservation
techniques
Stone lines Live fencing Hedges Others Composting
techniques
Percentage of producers that have been trained on new techniques and 
technologies by midterm
Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Overall
37
Chart 14. Percent of producers who use organic cotton production techniques at the midterm by 
technique, cohort, and sex
The most used technology is identifying and preparing land, and organic cotton production regulations. 
These are two of the most important technologies to master for organic cotton production. It is also 
of note that women have higher rates of implementation of improved techniquesthan men. This could 
be because they have a smaller surface area to maintain, allowing for them to use more techniques at 
a higher rate, than men, who would have to cover more area.
The category ‘contamination between Bt and organic cotton’ refers to producers who apply techniques 
to avoid contamination of their organic cotton by conventional, Bt cotton. To qualify for participation 
in the RECOLTE project and the organic cotton program at UNPCB, producers must follow strict 
guidelines to avoid contamination. The low levels of response to this question do not reflect that 
producers are contaminating their organic cotton. Instead, these low levels relate to the fact that many 
producers in the project do not cultivate conventional cotton, and thus the question of contamination 
does not relate to them (i.e. they are not practicing the technique because they do not need to). 
Chart 15 shows the percent of producers who use improved general crop production techniques at the 
midterm by technique, cohort, and sex. The techniques included here are stone lines, live fencing, 
hedges, other technologies, composting using the heap method, and composting using the pit method. 
87% 87%
87%
100% 100%
68%
76%
72% 72%
79% 76%
33%
48%
40% 39%
57%
48%
84%
86%
100%
62% 78% 71%
65%
77%
72%
37%
51%
45%
47%
71%
61%
86%
66%
77%
72%
69%
78%
74%
35%
50%
43% 43%
64%
54%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Organic cotton
production
regulations
Identifying and
preparing land
Seed and crop
maintenance
Harvesting
techniques
Commercialization
regulations
Contamination
between Bt and
organic cotton
Percent of producers who use organic cotton production techniques at 
the midterm by technique, cohort, and sex
Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Overall
38
Chart 15. Percent of producers who use improved production techniques at the midterm by 
technique, cohort, and sex
Live fencing and composting pits were among the most applied techniques for improved production, 
both with 100% implementation across sex and cohort. Live fencing is not only a very popular 
agricultural practice in the organic cotton production zones of Burkina Faso, but previous donor 
projects emphasized the technique before RECOLTE began, such as one that distributed tree saplings 
and live fencing seedlings in early 2013.
However, as discussed previously, producers face constraints in producing adequate amounts of 
compost due to challenges in accessing water. Furthermore, in analyzing the data on compost use, it 
was discovered that the data collection on this question was not specific to compost, but included the 
use of all types of organic fertilizer. While conducting interviews, it became apparent that while all 
producers have been trained on the use of composting pits, they are not often used, especially not by 
women. Instead, producers were referring to their use of organic fertilizer more generally, which is 
traditionally comprised of animal manure and crop residues from other organic crop harvests. Further 
exploration of this issue is recommended.
Overall, stone lines are used more often by men than women, especially in cohort 2, where 46% of 
men use the technique and 38% of women do. This is possibly due to the physical constraints for 
women to carry large stones. However, the percentage of women in Cohort 1 who use stone lines is 
as high as that of men (52%), indicating that perhaps over time women are able to find the resources 
to implement this technique.
Hedges are rarely used in both cohorts, at a rate of 18% and 14% for Cohorts 1 and 2, respectively. 
Compost heaps are also used at lower rates, by 31% of producers overall at midterm. This is due to the 
52%
52%
52%
17%
18%
18%
2%
2%
40%
33%
37%
46%
38%
41%
100%
100%
100%
15%
13%
14%
5%
0%
2%
26%
24%
25%
100%
100%
100%
49%
45%
47%
16%
16%
16%
3%
1%
34%
28%
31%
S T O N E L I N E S L I V E F E N C I N G H E D G E S O T H E R 
T E C H N I Q U E S
H E A P 
C O M P O S T I N G
C O M P O S T I N G P I T
PERCENT OF PRODUCERS WHO USE IMPROVED PRODUCTION 
TECHNIQUES AT THE MIDTERM BY TECHNIQUE, COHORT, AND SEX
Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Overall
39
dry environment of Burkina Faso which does not provide enough air moisture to support an exposed 
compost heap.
Chart 16. Land coverage by hectare of improved agricultural technologies of sampled producers
The cumulative total number of hectares on which improved techniques and technologies were 
applied stands at 3,792 ha at midterm: a 63% achievement rate towards the 6,000 ha outcome goal. 
Chart 16 shows information on land coverage gathered from the survey sample for the mid-term 
evaluation. The cohort analysis shows that Cohort 1 implements the improved agricultural techniques 
on 414 ha, while Cohort 2 implements on 221.65 ha. Thus, 65% of the land cultivated under improved 
agricultural technologies is cultivated by Cohort 1. It is important to recall that mainly women comprise 
Cohort 2, which explains the lower land coverage, as they traditionally have less access to land. Men 
apply the technologies to 410 ha, while women do so on 225 ha. As women have lower access to land, 
yet higher application rates (see discussion above), this difference in hectares under improved 
techniques is not necessarily indicative of a low adoption rate by women.
The differences in land coverage of improved practices by cohort may also be related to the longer 
amount of time that Cohort 1 has had to implement the techniques, and the potential for them to have 
attended more trainings than producers in Cohort 2.
Increased availability of improved inputs
RECOLTE activities that seek to increase the availability of inputs are: purchasing organic cotton seed 
from INERA, creating foundation seed multiplication plots for organic cotton, providing subsidized 
equipment, and creating organic cotton and rotational crop seed farms.
414.3
221.65
635.95
410.15
225.8
635.95
63
208.7
53.7
78.45
27.65
160.3
44.15
635.95
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Cohort 1
Cohort 2
Total
Male
Female
Total
Banfora
Fada
Ioba
Nayala
Oubritenga
Tenkodogo
Ziro
Total
Cohort Sex Zone
LAND COVERAGE (HA) OF IMPROVED AG RICULTURAL 
TECHNOLOGIES
40
At the time of the midterm, 2,600 kg of organic cotton seed had been purchased in 2015, exceeding 
the target of 1,350 kg. This is to catch up for the previous year, where 0 kg of seeds were purchased. 
Activity targets to establish foundational seed multiplication plots were met for both 2014 and 2015, 
with plots established in both years. Two organic cotton seed and rotational crop seed farms were 
created in 2014.
Chart 17. Seed needs and distribution (kg) by zone for the 2015-2106 farming season
Zone Comoe Gourma Ioba Nayala Oubritenga Boulgou Ziro TOTAL
Cotton seed needs 
(kg) 5,250 38,250 6,300 15,600 2,700 45,000 18,000 131,100
Seeds distributed 
(kg) 10,850 44,997 25,818 20,363 3,090 65,186 30,432 200,737
Chart 17 demonstrates the seed needs met by region for the 2015-2016 farming season. Overall, 153% 
of seed needs were met; however, these needs were not met in a timely manner. A major constraint 
for the 2015 sowing season, as cited by producers in focus groups, was the delayed arrival of seeds. 
Seed delay was due to both the delayed delivery of inputs and the delayed ginning and certification of 
seeds to be re-distributed by UNPCB. This was one contributing factor to the low agricultural yield from 
this growing season. 
Organic cotton seeds are managed by both INERA and UNPCB. INERA conducts seed research and 
produces foundation seeds for breeding. The breeding seeds are available around February/March 
each year. INERA also maintains two seed farmsto replicate the foundation seed. Experimental organic 
farming techniques are applied for demonstration and research at these locations. 
UNPCB manages the distribution of seedsto participating producers. Once the organic cotton is ginned 
and seeds are extracted (which happens after the conventional cotton has been ginned and the gin 
cleaned), UNPCB sends the seeds to Europe to be certified as organic. The seeds are then returned to 
UNPCB, who distributes them to producers. However, this process can take time and the seed 
distribution to producers can occur around June, a month after rainy season and when the planting 
season typically begins. Virtually all interviewed producer groups cited the delayed arrival of inputs as 
a major challenge to their production and a disincentive to participate in organic cotton production 
and the project.
UNPCB also manages the distribution of inputs such as organic pesticides and organic fertilizers. UNPCB 
also works with Green Cross for technical assistance in compost and SAPHYTO for farming inputs, 
materials, and trainings. The RECOLTE project subsidizes work with Green Cross, while UNPCB 
purchases equipment directly from SAPHYTO. Both entities have held trainings for Zone Chiefs, Organic 
Field Agents, and producer groups, to promote compost production and proper use of equipment.
As discussed earlier in this report, the RECOLTE project updated their equipment strategy to 
strengthen input supply. By switching from a strategy focused on producer groups to making 
equipment investment available to individual producers, 2,633 equipment inputs were made to be 
financially accessible to project participants over the life of the project. This is beyond the original 
target of 45 pieces of equipment in 2014 and 60 pieces of equipment in 2015. The equipment includes: 
transportation equipment, oxen, small equipment, harvest and post-harvest sacks and tools. This has 
aided 2,650 producers.
The project set up an input fund for the purchase of organic pesticides such as Batik.
41
Chart 18: Average cost of inputs in FCFA at baseline
ZONE Total Men Women
Comoé 31,258 38,582 27,788
Ioba 22,724 24,172 17,588
Nayala 21,695 13,192 24,828
Boulgou 23,487 20,302 30,921
Gourma 11,424 11,942 9,827
Oubritenga 18,387 24,465 13,120
Ziro 29,885 30,151 29,507
Average 21,047 19,611 23,952
Improved infrastructure to support on-farm production
RECOLTE built silos and other storage infrastructure for UNPCB use. This improved storage 
infrastructure allows UNPCB to maintain a clean, organically certified environment for the organic 
cotton. Cross contamination risk is reduced with these additional storage options.
At producer level, on average, 70% of producers have reported improved post-production operations, 
in harvest and storage, for rotational crops (Chart 19). Nonetheless, storage remains a problem for 
producers. Most producers participating in organic cotton production do not have easy access to 
storage spaces. Only 16.8% of growers have access to the UNPCB warehouse (15.8% of men and 17.7% 
of women) (Chart 20). These figures are improved from the baseline, when only 12.5% of growers had
access to the UNPCB warehouse (14% men and 10% women), but still remain low.
Chart 19: Producers with access to quality/effective off-farm storage 
70.70%
70.20%
70.50%
60.10%
79.60%
70.50%
77.40%
37.80%
51.40%
92.50%
91.80%
64.80%
96.90%
70.50%
29.30%
29.80%
29.50%
39.90%
20.40%
29.50%
22.60%
62.20%
48.60%
7.50%
8.20%
35.20%
3.10%
29.50%
C O H O R T 1
C O H O R T 2
T O T A L
M E N
W O M E N
T O T A L
B A N F O R A
F A D A
I O B A
N A Y A L A
O U B R I T E N G A
T E N K O D O G O
Z I R O
T O T A L
C O H O R T SEX ZONE
USE OF POST-PRODUCTION PRACTICES
Yes No
42
Storage of organic cotton harvest at midline
Charts 20 and 21 below illustrate the storage practices of organic cotton producers. At the midline, 
over half of all producers utilize a personal storehouse for their organic cotton. In all zones except 
Banfora, access to the UNPCB warehouse is limited. Producers are obliged to store their raw seed 
cotton at home until the cotton gin is available (organic cotton is ginned after all conventional cotton 
in Burkina Faso has been ginned and the machine cleaned in order to avoid cross-contamination). This 
exposes the organic cotton to other sources of contaminants or destructive environments such as 
pests, animals/rodents, chemicals, and weather.
Chart 20: Type of storage facility by cohort, sex, and zone
Chart 21 below describes the storage unit characteristics. Over half of focus group respondents 
reported contamination of their storage spaces. 
18.80%
14.60%
16.80%
15.80%
17.70%
16.80%
72.90%
0.00%
4.30%
0.70%
0.00%
33.30%
14.50%
16.80%
61.90%
52.80%
57.50%
69.30%
46.90%
57.50%
23.70%
87.00%
94.30%
48.30%
73.60%
35.50%
64.50%
57.50%
0.50%
0.90%
0.70%
0.60%
0.80%
0.70%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
7.50%
0.50%
0.00%
0.70%
8.70%
21.80%
15.00%
4.50%
24.50%
15.00%
1.70%
6.50%
0.00%
49.00%
1.90%
7.00%
14.50%
15.00%
10.10%
9.90%
10.00%
9.90%
10.10%
10.00%
1.70%
6.50%
1.40%
2.00%
17.00%
23.70%
6.50%
10.00%
C O H O R T 1
C O H O R T 2
E N S E M B L E
M A L E
F E M A L E
T O T A L
B A N F O R A
F A D A
I O B A
N A Y A L A
O U B R I T E N G A
T E N K O D O G O
Z I R O
T O T A L
C O H O R T SEX ZONE
TYPE OF STORAGE FACILITY
UNPCB Warehouse Personal Storehouse Granary Bedroom Other
43
Chart 21: Storage unit conditions by cohort, sex, and zone
Increased use of financial services
Producers are accessing credit from UNPCB, RECOLTE, Credit Union Network (RCP), Institution de 
Microfinance and other structures. This evaluation assessed producers’ access to credit both for inputs
and for equipment. The producers interviewed in the Oubritenga and Ziro zones have high variations
between midterm and baseline responses in terms of access to credit (Chart 22). This is due to the 
formulation of the interview question. Producers in these areas do access credit through the RECOLTE 
project, as do producers in other project activity zones, by way of paying a small down payment for 
inputs and equipment at the time of delivery, and paying the rest at the time of harvest payment.
As seen in Chart 22, many more producers access credit to purchase inputs (77%) than to purchase
equipment (5%) at midterm. However, compared to the baseline, the use of credit for both inputs and 
equipment purchases has declined significantly; 97% of male and female producers used credit for 
inputs and 34% (32.5% of men and 36.8% of women) used credit to purchase equipment at baseline.
Since the project has provided subsidized agricultural equipment, producers have greater access to 
equipment without seeking credit approval from a bank. Equipment is often not an annual purchase, 
but rather on an as-needed basis. This has led to a decrease in credit accessed for equipment. 
Additionally, inputs for organic cotton farming are generally cheaper, and thus more accessible than 
inputs for conventional farming. With the provision of subsidized inputs, such as seeds and batik, 
producers are able to purchase without seeking credit from a bank.
In comparing access to credit by gender at midterm, it is evident that men access credit for equipment 
more often than women (9% for men and 2% for women). But in terms of credit to purchase inputs, 
women and men access credit at relatively the same rates: 77% for men and 76% for women. However, 
gender disparities appear regarding the amount of credit obtained by sex. For inputs, men access an 
average amount of credit of 4,171.90 FCFA compared to 2,441.09 FCFA for women. Regarding credit 
for equipment, men also receive higher amounts of credit, with an average amount of 69,209.90 FCFA 
for men and 56,264.52 FCFA received by women. 38.4% 42.8% 32.5% 47.6% 95.2%
16.9%
0.0%
55.5%
18.0%
50.5%
36.9%
40.5%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
60.6%
63.1%
60.3%
63.1%
77.4%
57.4%
88.6%
67.6%
75.4%
49.0%
38.5%
61.8%
45.8%
46.9%
39.4%
52.4%
77.4%
39.9%
60.0%
72.3%
6.6%
33.2%
24.6%
46.3%
STORAGE CONDITIONS
Airy Spacious No cross contamination No Bt product stored
44
A comparison with the results of the baseline survey reveals that access to credit was higher at the 
beginning of the project. In fact, more than 9 out of 10 producers said they had access to input credit 
and one third of them had access to credit equipment. Similarly, gender disparities were not as 
alarming at the time as 96.7% of men and 96.3% of women had access to credit for inputs and 32.5% 
of men compared with 36.8% of women had access to credit for equipment.
In general, producers seek financial services, such as credit, to purchase equipment and inputs for their 
crops. Unfortunately, the reality is that access to credit is a major hurdle for producers. The producers 
that are participating the in the RECOLTE project are generally smallholder producers. They do not 
have titles to their land, as they are managed under customary laws, and thus do not have a guarantee 
requested by the banks. The RECOLTE project has been working on a partnership between CRS, UNPCB, 
and RCP to increase accessibility to credit for the participating producers. CRS is using $150,000 as a 
guarantee in place of producers’ title to their land. At the time of the mid-term evaluation, this 
agreement was still in discussion.
Chart 22: Percentage of project participants accessing credit for inputs or equipment in the 
2015/2016 season
Improved farm management, including operations and finance
The RECOLTE project has implemented trainings in improved farm management. These trainings cover 
organizational capacity building for developing producer organizations. Themes include: operation, 
finance, management, and roles and responsibilities. 
At baseline, an average of 29.7% of producers applied improved management practices (of which 
28.8% were men and 31.5% were women) such as a family farm council and financial management 
planning. At midterm however, all producers who were trained by the project report applying the
management tools in their groups or in their on-farm management.
Midterm Baseline
Input credit Equipment credit Input credit Equipment credit
Sex Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall Male Female Overall
COMOE 80% 70% 74% 20% 14% 16% 77% 84% 82% 16% 20% 19%
IOBA 95% 100% 96% 3% 0% 3% 92% 100% 94% 20% 50% 25%
NAYALA 86% 93% 92% 3% 1% 2% 100% 95% 96% 72% 53% 58%
BOULGOU 89% 95% 92% 16% 3% 10% 96% 96% 96% 27% 25% 26%
GOURMA 94% 97% 95% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 100% 37% 50% 40%
OUBRITENGA 0% 0% 0% 9% 0% 5% 100% 100% 100% 46% 78% 63%
ZIRO 5% 0% 2% 14% 0% 5% 100% 100% 100% 57% 29% 46%
Overall 77% 76% 77% 9% 2% 5% 97% 97% 97% 32% 37% 34%
45
Chart 23: Percentage of producers who apply management practices at midterm*
4
Those who have 
already taken training 
courses on 
production unit 
management
Those who apply 
management tools 
learned in training
Cohort
Cohort 1 74.6% 100.0%
Cohort 2 69.9% 100.0%
Average 72.4% 100.0%
Sex
Men 68.9% 100.0%
Women 75.5% 100.0%
Average 72.4% 100.0%
Zone
BANFORA 77.4% 100.0%
FADA 90.5% 100.0%
IOBA 82.9% 100.0%
NAYALA 79.8% 100.0%
OUBRITENGA 42.6% 100.0%
TENKODOGO 63.3% 100.0%
ZIRO 50.8% 100.0%
Average 72.4% 100.0%
The trained producers in both cohorts apply their farm management techniques at a rate of 100%. In 
Cohort 1, 74.6% of producers were trained in farm management, while in Cohort 2, 69.9% have been 
trained. 
Number of producers using market information, breakdown by source
For smallholder producers, information on market prices for cotton is limited. UNPCB hosts forums 
each year in production zones to share the cost for seed cotton, but not for cotton fiber. Since organic 
cotton prices are found only online, this information is inaccessible to most producers, who do not 
have access to the internet. 
Market information is circulated by radio, mainly for staple crops, but not for organic crops. Producers 
may use this information to learn about prices for their rotational or other crops. At the baseline, 3.6% 
of producers received market information from APEX, the agency for the promotion of Burkina Faso 
exports, while 69.8% of producers reported using market information from sources other than APEX, 
and 33.8% received information from SONAGES, the National Society for Food Security Stock 
Management. This remained consistent at the midterm, with very few producers using APEX and 
 
4 The question was not asked correctly and in its entirety by the data collection team. The question should have 
specified management techniques as a result of USDA assistance, and this specification was not included.
46
SONAGES for information (0 and 3.5% respectively). All producers with access to market information 
reported using INADES, an agency that, among other services, provides technical information in rural 
zones. 43.4% also use other sources of information that were not included in the survey questionnaire. 
Private sector institutions supporting agricultural productivity, In-kind/monetary, nature and 
quantity of support
While the project initially targeted one private institution to contribute to the project, at midline the 
project surpassed this target with 5 different institutions contributing.
The RECOLTE project has many private sector stakeholders, as cotton is the largest industry in terms 
of volume of export in Burkina Faso. In fact, the key partner, UNPCB, is a private sector institution. 
UNPCB supports agricultural productivity as part of its mission as a Burkinabe cotton farmers union. 
The institution provides services to its members including access to inputs and technical advice, cotton 
sales, and producer representation in the Burkinabe cotton sector. They are a main and essential player 
in the organic cotton value chain in Burkina Faso.
FairTrade International and FairTrade Africa are bodies that manage the international FairTrade
standards, whose mission is to bring together poor producers and consumers, promote more FairTrade 
conditions, and enable producers to fight poverty, to strengthen their position and better control over 
their lives. The RECOLTE project has used their technical expertise to create high-level training 
resources on child labor prevention for the benefit of UNPCB's organic cotton producers and extension 
services.
Green Cross is a private company that has developed a technology called Compost Plus, which reduces 
the time of the composting processfrom 6-9 months to 2 monthsthrough the use of a certified organic 
product that accelerates the decomposition of organic matter, thus reducing the farmer's work and 
allowing for composting in any season of the year. Green Cross has promoted this technology across 
the country, in partnership with FAO, WFP and the Ministry of Agriculture. CRS is working with them
to train all UNPCB fieldworkers and lead producers on the use of the Compost Plus technology. 
Demonstration plots will then be set up to expose producers to the technology and its benefits for 
organic cotton production.
In the same vein, CRS has asked SAPHYTO, a private pest control company, to provide organic 
pesticides and training for UNPCB field agents and organic cotton producers. The organic pesticide the 
company produces and sells is ‘batik’, made of the bacteria bacillua thurigiensis, a bacteria that 
improves the soil’s nutrients and protects it from pests. This natural input conforms to organic 
standards in Europe (CE) and the US (USDA NOP). The safe and effective use of organic pesticides and 
the maintenance and repair of sprayers will be the focus of the training.
4.3.2. Strategic Objective 2: Expanded trade of agricultural products (domestic, regional, and 
international)
The RECOLTE project’s activities associated with Strategic Objective 2 have been designed and adapted 
to expand trade of agricultural products in the domestic, regional, and international arenas. Activities 
include: value add for organic cotton post-production, attending trade shows, developing adaptable 
marketing strategies, diversification of buyer portfolio, and coordination with government and private 
sector stakeholders to reinforce an enabling environment for organic cotton production.
The activities concerning the trade expansion of agricultural products were developed with two critical 
assumptions in mind:
(i) The political peace and stability is maintained in Burkina Faso and the sub region
(ii) The international price is not volatile
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As explained in the context section earlier in this report, the first critical assumption was the most 
challenging for the RECOLTE project. With the popular uprising and ousting of the former President in 
October 2014, the subsequent repercussions with UNPCB’s hierarchy, and the failed coup d’état in 
September 2015, implementation of all RECOLTE activities were slowed. The perturbation of political 
peace and stability in Burkina Faso has impacted UNPCB’s operations and finances, the reputation of 
the country in terms of business risk, and the relationships CRS and UNPCB maintain within the 
government of Burkina Faso.
The second critical assumption was also challenged in that Limited Brands, the buyer at the time of 
project development, abruptly ended their purchasing agreement with UNPCB. As the business had 
been purchasing cotton at a higher than market average price (375 FCFA/kg), the price of organic 
cotton decreased for producers, to 325 FCFA/kg. Responding to the loss of the sole buyer, CRS and 
UNPCB worked together to readjust RECOLTE activities to develop a new business and marketing plan. 
The sections below discuss the various activities associated with SO2. They include activities to expand
organic cotton trade at the regional and international levels, and activities related to post-production
technologies and quality control, as well as production cost estimates at midterm.
Regional and international export markets
The volume of organic cotton exports decreased between the two seasons included in the midline 
reporting period from 2,622 MT of cotton fiber in 2014-2015 to 1,170 MT in 2015-2016. Compared to 
the baseline figure, which was 2,000 MT for the 2013-2014 season, there was a decrease on average
of more than 41%. This situation was due in part to the poor rainfall that producers experienced in the 
2015 season, which had a negative impact on cotton production overall and thus quantity available for 
export. The target quantity for export by the end of the project is 3,300 MT; the midterm results have 
not yet achieved this, and averaging the two seasons exports puts the project at achieving 57% of this 
target at midterm. 
Fiber cotton exports in the 2014/15 season generated about $3,281,100, compared to $756,374 in 
2015/16, while the endline target is $4,785,000.
Percent of organic cotton certified as meeting international standards
In the 2015-2016 farming season, 77.67% of fiber was certified organic by the European Commission 
(CE), the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (USDA NOP), and 
FairTrade (FLOCert). During this season, a total of 7,136 farms were certified, after 8,457 were 
proposed for certification. 964 producers abandoned their plots or did not harvest anything due to 
rain shortage, and were not considered for certification while 357 producers were ruled out because 
they breached the organic standards. As a result, the target for 10,000 certified farms for the 2015-
2016 farming season was not met. However, the inception to date target (14,000 farms) has been 
achieved and even exceeded, with a total of 15,112 farms certified after two years. 
Improved marketing of agricultural products
A major challenge in the RECOLTE project was the withdrawal of Limited Brands, due to their changes 
in business and branding strategy. They were previously the sole buyer of UNPCB organic cotton. The 
improved marketing of organic cotton became a major strategic objective as the RECOLTE project and 
UNPCB worked to adjust to the change by incorporating new activities such as the development of a 
new marketing strategy and attending trade shows and fairs. The goal is to diversify UNPCB’s portfolio 
of buyers to decrease risk and increase resiliency in the face of buyer changes. 
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After the withdrawal of Limited Brands, UNPCB opted for diversifying trading partners, following a 
strategy to build partnerships in the long term. CRS and UNPCB held strategy meetings and reformed 
the project to include marketing activities, such as going to trade shows.
To do this, UNPCB has gradually worked to improve the quality of the cotton fiber (grade and length 
of silk) with good traceability (use of the digital data collection system). 
Number of trade shows/fairs since start of project
Due to the instability of the political environment in Burkina Faso, attendance at trade shows was 
delayed until October 2016. During the failed coup-d’état, the borders closed and travel to previously 
programmed trade shows in France and India were cancelled. 
Thus, at the time of the midterm, UNPCB has participated in two seed fairs with INERA in June 2015 
and 2016. Post-midterm data collection, UNPCB attended the Textile Exchange Conference in 
Hamburg, Germany in October 2016 and in Washington, DC in October 2017. 
Number of buyers for organic cotton (sales)
At midterm, UNPCB had three buyers at the international level: Limited Brands, Biocoton, and SIGMA. 
There have been two buyers at the national level: Filsah and SOFACOB. 
UNPCB has diversified its buyer portfolio and has been able to sell organic cotton at competitive prices, 
though not at the high price that Limited Brands offered, as their pricing was higher than industry 
standard. Additionally, not all the cotton is sold with the FairTrade premium, as some buyers have 
sought to purchase organic-only cotton. 
Constraints to market access
Over the lifetime of the project, there have been constraints to market access. They are:
• Changes in the country’s political environment and stability have altered the reputation of 
Burkina Faso in terms of business risk. 
• UNPCB is based in a French-speaking country and seeking buyers in the Anglophone world 
presents a language challenge.
• The ginning bottleneck creates a high risk for attrition among participating producers who 
must wait months after harvest to sell their cotton, thus threatening the production level of 
organic cotton in Burkina Faso and thereby discouraging buyers. 
Post production techniques
The RECOLTE project has sought to improve the quality of smallholders’ organic cotton by promoting 
post-harvest techniques. The organic cotton is categorized into 1st choice and 2nd choice categories 
according to quality criteria such as cleanliness and color. The price varies with the quality. The same 
applies to rotation crops, such as shea, whose quality criteria and the corresponding purchase prices 
are set by the buyers.
Value add
The RECOLTE project has trained UNPCB and producers on best practices for post-production to 
increase the quality and thus the value. These trainings include: harvesting techniques, quality control, 
storage, and ginning. Interviews with UNPCB staff have revealed that these post-harvest techniques 
do influence the quality not only the cotton, but also the rotational crops. The effects of higher quality
are reflected in the cotton’s price, as it is certified as organic and/or FairTrade, and is eligible for a 
premium on the price. 
Increased efficiency of post-production processes
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A major challenge for the RECOLTE project is supporting the increased efficiency of the post-production 
processes. The efficiency of the organic cotton value chain encounters bottlenecks at the cotton gin: 
organic cotton cannot be ginned until all conventional cotton has gone through the factory and the 
machines are cleaned to organic standards. This bottleneck delays payment to producers, certification 
of cotton and seeds, distribution of seed inputs, sale of the cotton, and then delays the next season’s 
planting and harvesting. 
Two critical assumptions are associated with this indicator:
(i) The price of inputs and prices for producers remains favorable
(ii) Producers adopt post-harvest techniques
While neither assumption is directly challenged, both have been indirectly challenged. The price of 
inputs and prices for producers do remain favorable, however, the delay in timing for these two 
important pieces de-incentivizes producers from continuing to cultivate organic cotton. While farm￾level post-harvest techniques are being adopted by producers and are contributing to improve the 
quality of harvested cotton, the producers have little control over when and how the cotton is ginned. 
The ginning process bottlenecks (See page 26) are a major barrier to achieving increased efficiency of 
post-harvest processes for organic cotton. RECOLTE staff are in discussions with UNPCB to look for a 
suitable solution to this issue.
Chart 24: Average production cost per ha of organic cotton (FCFA) without family labor
Cohort
Cohort 1 21,761 
Cohort 2 20,566 
Average 21,296 
Sex
Men 17,850 
Women 27,676 
Average 21,296 
Zone
BANFORA 51,949 
FADA 6,662 
IOBA 31,711 
NAYALA 47,593 
OUBRITENGA 21,005 
TENKODOGO 10,456 
ZIRO 43,387 
Average 21,296 
As seen in Chart 24 above, women’s production costs are 35% higher than men’s and yet have lower 
yields because men have access to family labor, however women do not. As a result, women must pay 
laborers for services such as transportation, planting, and harvesting.
There are many cultural barriers in place that explain the disparity between the production costs for 
men and women. Generally, the first farm worked on in the day is the head of households, meaning 
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that the whole family unit works together on the same field. The head of household is typically a man 
with access to a larger surface area. Family labor decreases costs for men cultivating organic cotton. 
Individual farms are tended to in the afternoon, thus the women must hire laborers to replace the 
family labor. Since women have smaller surface area for cultivation, they can apply the new 
technologies more efficiently. 
Some regions have high disparities in production costs as well, like Banfora (51,949 FCFA) and Fada 
(6,662 FCFA) for example. Fada has the lowest production cost, which is explained by the farming 
culture in the area. It is a traditional practice to use organic matter, such as manure, as fertilizers. Fada 
is an agricultural production zone with some of the highest yields in the country. Banfora is an area 
where organic fertilizers are not a typical practice, and the traditional agricultural practice does not 
lead to high yields. Due to this, they must spend more money for resources, such as manure and 
compost, that do not have high demand nor high production. 
4.4 Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning 
CRS used their Monitoring and Evaluation approach, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and 
Learning (MEAL), for the RECOLTE Project. This approach sets in place an operational system to serve 
for not only reporting, but also learning during the course of the program. The SMILER (Simple 
Measurement of Indicators for Learning and Evidence-based Reports) workshop was used to develop 
an operational MEAL manual that emphasizes routine monitoring and continuous learning. 
While the M&E plan approved by the donor did not expressly mention the preferred method for 
routine monitoring, CRS put in place a comprehensive system that follows core standards and is 
tailored to the RECOLTE project. This system responds to the roles and responsibilities of all 
stakeholders, a MEAL working group with quarterly meetings, a data flow map, a communication and 
reporting map, as well as data collection forms covering all output level indicators and most of 
outcomes indicators such as cultivated plot areas, production and sales.
Although these procedures are planned in the M&E operating manual, the MEAL working group did 
not meet periodically as initially planned. The M&E working group should is an opportunity to update 
the M&E system to consider gaps or changes in approaches like for cotton (or rotational crops) market 
information system, the SILC approach, among other oversights, which were dropped in the first year. 
With expert support from the CRS HQ-based Global Knowledge and Information Management Unit, a 
tailored ICT4D solution was designed for the MEAL systems, which reinforces data quality including 
timely reporting and data integrity. The solution was successfully tested in the Oubritenga production 
zone in April 2015, and full spectrum pilot covered Oubritenga and Comoe production zones starting 
in June 2015 after training project and partner staff. ICT4D was then fully scaled to all the production 
zones in 2016. The solution uses three software packages for farmer identification/registration, for 
electronic data collection and for reporting. It is an important decision for UNPCB to evolve from paper￾based data collection to adoption of the proposed ICT4D solution. Their feedback on the solution has 
been very positive, and extension to all productions zones is being considered now; if adopted, this 
will be the first of its kind in cotton production in West Africa.
The RECOLTE project should continue to build on these successes to reinforce its MEAL system to be a
supportive resource in learning and decision making. While the donor’s MEAL requirements are 
focused on tracking quantitative indicators, the program monitoring should continue to systematically 
document successes, challenges, and lessons learned which would have been addressed by qualitative 
data.
M&E Lessons Learned
• The M&E working group will help RECOLTE be more adaptive to the changing 
environment of the project implementation;
• ICT-based information system help dedicate time for learning while improving 
information system quality, including integrity and timeliness
• Systematic documentation of successes, challenges, and lessons learned improves 
learning for better decision making
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4.5 Gender Mainstreaming and Sustainability of Project Activities
Sustainability
Sustainability of the RECOLTE project might be affected in many points along the value chain. It is 
vulnerable at the producer, processing, and purchasing levels, as elaborated below. 
Organic Field Agents (ATBs) have a low retention rate and limited time to continue promoting behavior 
change in agricultural practice, while producers have low educational levels, which are all threats to 
sustainability. 
From the processing level, the delayed ginning, and thus payment and seed access for the following 
season, is a threat to the sustainability of producers’ longevity in the project, as well as the stability of 
meeting a purchasing agreement. 
From the purchasing level, the pull out of Limited Brands has left the project vulnerable without a sole 
buyer and the higher than market average fixed price. 
With project knowledge, the evaluation team is assured that CRS and UNPCB have adjusted their 
programming and objectives to address these vulnerabilities. It is essential to the sustainability of the 
project to secure a ginning facility that will allow for timely ginning of the organic cotton, which will 
thus create more stable relationships with both producers and purchasers alike. 
Apart from the risks to sustainability, it is determined that there are aspects to the RECOLTE project 
that have high positive probability of sustainability. The organic agricultural techniques and 
organizational capacity building have high achievement rates and high adoption rates. These are early 
signals to the continuation of environmentally and operationally sustainable practices. 
Gender mainstreaming
Even though women have a potential opportunity to enter into the organic cotton industry, gender is 
the biggest constraint to increased agricultural activity, and thus agricultural-based revenues, in 
Burkina Faso. Traditions in the country limit women’s access to resources such as credit, land, 
transportation, and tools. Women have less autonomy over family land, the division of labor, and 
transportation methods and use, such as carts for harvesting and cotton collection. 
Furthermore, women’s production costs are much higher than men’s because women must pay 
laborers for services like transportation, planting, and harvesting. Men, on the other hand, have easier 
access to networks that can provide assistance in transportation and priority in utilizing family 
members for other agricultural tasks. 
RECOLTE’s efforts to involve women in organic cotton production and improve their access to finance 
are successful. The project undertook actions and negotiations with Limited Brands to promote access 
to credit inputs and equipment and to develop micro-finance services and income-generating 
activities. In this way, women’s participation has improved and money is now in a revolving fund for 
women’s income generating activities that include off-farm income generation.
The increased number of women producers – from the initial goal of 30% to 52% at the midline – is a 
significant level of gender mainstreaming. This inclusiveness and adjustments to project objectives 
demonstrates that the project is effective and has impact on the economic livelihoods of poor women 
in Burkina Faso. 
 
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4.6 Constraining and Facilitating Factors of Project Implementation
Strengths
CRS and UNPCB emphasize regular exchange with stakeholders and promote flexibility in all aspects of 
the project. When Limited Brands terminated the contract, and in effect, all the benefits to producers, 
UNPCB adapted a new marketing strategy that focused on key actions necessary to attract new and 
diverse buyers. It is recommended that UNPCB develop a coherent marketing policy that anticipates 
opportunities, improves the visibility of organic cotton in Burkina Faso, accounts for customer 
expectations, and tracks customer satisfaction. 
CRS and UNPCB highlight the importance of appropriate activities to meet project objectives. In this 
way, focus groups revealed producer’s interest in organic cotton production and the need for UNPCB
to access market information so as to develop a strategic marketing strategy. Access can be improved 
through reinforcing the existing market information system platforms and provide this information to 
producers. It is recommended that market trends are studied and reported every three years. 
Increased female autonomy 
In December 2015, CRS set up a revolving micro-grant activity to benefit women cotton producers. Its 
main objective will be to reach at least 1,500 women producers each year, for a total of 4,500 women 
producers by the end of the RECOLTE project in 2018. The grants are for off-season, which is also 
known as the ‘lean season’, income-generating activities. With these loans, the women’s resilience will 
be strengthened, and they will be enabled to diversify their livelihoods and increase their income by 
developing or scaling up income-generating activities. It is expected that increased income for women 
will translate into improvements for the entire household, as baseline data showed that women spend 
a larger share of their income on the well-being of their families. Since project inception, the number 
of women producers participating in organic cotton production has increased by 15%. At mid-term the 
micro-grant activity implementation was still in planning stages. 
Stakeholders 
The RECOLTE project actively engages with both US and national level stakeholders on marketing and 
microfinance activities. This expertise and knowledge sharing environment has led to strong support 
and relationships with the CRS director of operations and corporate engagement, the Reseau des 
Caisses Populaire du Burkina (RCP), high level government officials, and with Limited Brands. Following 
the departure of Limited Brands, and with their connections, efforts are underway to reach other 
potential buyers. 
Further collaboration with representatives from IFDC, INERA, University of Bobo-Dioulasso, Fairtrade 
International, Texas A&M University, ECOCERT Burkina Faso, Conseil National de l’Agriculture 
Biologique, Direction de la Production des Végétaux of the Ministry of Agriculture and SOFITEX
contributed to the preparation and updating of the organic cotton production, certification and 
processing manual as well as a child labor prevention trainer’s manual. The manual, developed by 
Fairtrade International and FairTrade Africa, was created as a resource for UNPCB’s organic cotton 
producers and extension services. The RECOLTE team is working with Ministry of Family and Social 
Action to review and receive Ministry approval. Upon completion of the review, the manual will be 
published and made available to trainers to further enhance the capacity of all UNPCB extension 
officers and Ministry of Agriculture staff in the organic cotton production areas.
These important national and international organizations, led by the RECOLTE project, worked 
together to create the manuals, which will become references for the entire region. The manuals are 
based on fair trade principles and specific to the organic cotton production in Burkina Faso, however 
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the environmental and ecological cotton production zone in West Africa render the manual regionally 
relevant. 
Livelihoods
Final results for the 2014-2015 planting season obtained after ginning was completed in May featured 
a very positive status for certifications, yield, production and revenues. Gross revenue for the 
producers increased to $2 million from $1.6 million in the previous planting season. This increased 
revenue had a visible impact on livelihoods of producers. Producer group interviews revealed that they 
can now afford to send their children to school, invest in housing, purchase animals, and have an 
overall improved diet with better quality food. Unfortunately, the 2015/2016 season experienced a 
bad harvest, which did not allow for such investments, but hopefully they will continue in the next 
season.
Weaknesses
Delayed ginning of the organic cotton is one of the main challenges encountered every year. The 
impact is delayed sale, resulting in late payments to the producers, late processing of the seeds, late 
distribution of inputs, and then late planting in the next season. This cycle frustrates producers, leading 
many to quit the organic cotton value chain. In addition, the late planting affects cotton maturity, 
decreasing yields and total production, as well as seed quality. 
USDA agreed to increase RECOLTE funding to allow for the construction of a gin dedicated to organic 
cotton. Approximately 1.2 million USD from the sales of the additional commodity tonnage will be used 
for this investment. This initial investment has become seed money, as it has generated a tremendous 
interest from all parties in the cotton value chain in Burkina. In fact, a public-private partnership has 
been identified as the best way to make this impact investment. This partnership will involve UNPCB 
(with the RECOLTE investment and possibly their own additional contribution), SOFITEX (the biggest 
and most influential cotton company), the Economic and Social Development Fund (FBDES -
investment fund set up by the Government) and the Government Investment Promotion Agency in 
Burkina (API - which is part of the President’s Cabinet). A feasibility study for a dedicated gin is 
underway.
The late introduction of seeds is the most frequent constraint put forward by nearly two out of three 
producers. This has led to the reduction of the number of producers from year to year. For example, 
the drop-out rate of Cohort 1 members is 26%. During the 2013-2014 agricultural season, there were
7,094 producers in Cohort 1, yet in the 2015-2016 agricultural season, there were 5,266 producers left 
in Cohort 1. UNPCB is unable to pay producers for their organic cotton until all conventional cotton has 
been ginned in the SOFITEX gins and the gins are cleaned per organic standards. Typically, this is four 
to six months after harvest, just before the next sowing season begins. At that point, certified organic 
inputs that are necessary to begin the season are often delayed due to bottlenecks in certification and 
distribution. The RECOLTE project is supporting UNPCB to identify solutions to these issues.
The project undertook actions to promote access to credit inputs and equipment, the development of 
micro-finance services and income-generating activities (IGAs) to benefit all producers. At the time of 
the evaluation, a micro-finance strategy and a tripartite collaboration protocol between CRS, the 
UNPCB and the Caisse Populaires has been initiated, but has not yet been signed and is not yet running. 
The quality of the work from local consulting firms doing evaluations is often questionable. 
Unfortunately, the budget for M&E activities is not always enough to get international consulting firms 
interested in project evaluations.
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CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED 
The evaluation team has found that, at the mid-term, the RECOLTE project has demonstrated resiliency 
throughout impactful external changes, and is able to meet end-line goals and objectives. The external 
impacts have changed the structure of the project: the withdrawal of Limited Brands has added new 
activities and focus to the project, the impact of a shortened rainy season has led to producers 
dropping out of the project. Yet, CRS and project partners have continued to adjust and respond to the 
changes to continue to have a relevant, efficient, impactful, and sustainable organic cotton production 
sector in Burkina Faso. 
Evaluation Findings
Intervention Relevance and Strategic Fit
The mid-term evaluation has found that the RECOLTE project has strategically developed and adjusted 
project activities considering the economic, political, and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The project 
is in-line with the Government of Burkina Faso’s economic and agricultural development policies and 
programs, which focus on vulnerable rural households. CRS and UNPCB have worked together to find 
areas where adjustments would create a better fit for the beneficiaries, such as providing equipment 
for individual producers instead of producer groups in order to allow for a more equitably shared 
resource. CRS and UNPCB are also working to adjust the project to address the new challenges after 
the withdrawal of Limited Brands. This includes supporting new sections of the value chain and 
international marketing.
Adequacy and Efficiency of Resource Utilization
In terms of efficiency, the mid-term evaluation performed a cost analysis by producer and a cost￾benefit analysis. In the cost analysis by producer, it was found that the cost per producer increased by 
6.17%, from $180.71 per producer in 2015 to $191.87 per producer in 2016. This is because the project 
experienced a 7.86% decrease in participants, thus causing the project to lose economies of scale. Cost 
per producer could have been decreased by limiting the number of re-trainings, strengthening organic 
compost production, and reconsidering the method of distribution for seeds and other inputs.
For the cost-benefit analysis, the mid-term evaluation found thatthe total production of organic cotton 
has been in line with the number of beneficiaries producing over the project period. Considering the 
decline of the producer price of organic seed cotton in 2016 (from 375 to 325 FCFA/kg), the rate of 
return that year was 52.9%, a decrease of 5% from 2015, despite the decrease in number of producers. 
The RECOLTE project should continue to intensify production and seek to resolve the bottlenecks in 
processing and marketing to reach economies of scale and have a greater return on investment.
Effectiveness and Impacts of Intervention
Increased Agricultural Productivity
Overall, the participants in the RECOLTE project have not increased their agricultural productivity. The 
average organic cotton yield decreased by 35.6%. This decrease in organic cotton production can be 
explained in part due to the poor rainfall during the planting season. Yet, for women, average yields 
per hectare were also higher at mid-term than for men, indicating a change from the baseline situation 
which showed men having higher yields than women. This is shows that despite many gender-based 
constraints, organic cotton production is becoming increasingly more relevant for women. 
The average value of organic cotton production dropped alongside the decreased in yields. The poor 
rainy season and the loss of Limited Brands, a buyer who paid higher prices, had a heavy impact on the 
revenues for participants. While the average value in organic cotton production per hectare has 
decreased overall, women now earn 10% more than men overall (2.4% in Cohort 1 and 21.9% in Cohort 
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2). This aligns with their higher yields per hectare. This positive improvement in women’s incomes 
could be due to the project’s activities to overcome barriers to women’s access to productive inputs; 
for example, distributing farming tools directly to producers rather than to producer organizations, 
thus improving women’s access to the tools and promoting higher agricultural productivity among 
women.
Expanded trade of agricultural products
At the mid-term, the RECOLTE project has experienced a large loss in terms of expanded trade of 
organic cotton. The loss of Limited Brands not only decreased the price paid per kilogram of organic 
cotton, but it also required the RECOLTE project and UNPCB to adjust to mastering the processing part 
of the value chain. Due to this, exports decreased over the course of the project, resulting in lower 
revenue generation for the organic cotton produced. 
The evaluation team has found that while there are many bottlenecks in processing to address, the 
RECOLTE project has worked to address them in the most sustainable and relevant ways possible. It is 
notable that the project addresses not only the bottlenecks in terms of ginning, but also in alliances 
between the private and public sector to create an enabling environment for the organic cotton sector 
in Burkina Faso. It is of the utmost importance that CRS continue their facilitation role in order to 
secure a gin with local ownership, to catalyze the production, processing, and sales of organic cotton 
produced by project beneficiaries. 
Sustainability of project activities
There are aspects to the RECOLTE project that are highly likely to be sustainable. Organic agricultural 
techniques and organizational capacity building have high achievement and adoption rates. These are 
early signals to the continuation of environmentally and operationally sustainable practices. 
Sustainability of the RECOLTE project might be affected in many points along the value chain. It is 
vulnerable at the producer, processing, and purchasing level. Organic Field Agents (ATBs) have a low 
retention rate and limited time to continue promoting behavior change in agricultural practice, while 
producers have low educational levels. The delayed ginning, and thus payment and seed access for the 
following season, discourages producers from continuing in with organic cotton production. The loss
of Limited Brands has left the project vulnerable without a buyer. 
The evaluation team is assured that CRS and UNPCB have adjusted their programming and activities to 
address these vulnerabilities. It is essential to the sustainability of the project to secure a ginning 
facility.
Lessons Learned
Participatory approach to project management
UNPCB and other stakeholders remarked that they are satisfied with the CRS project management, 
which they noted values their input throughout the project implementation.
Gender dynamics and finance 
In Burkina Faso, cultural gender norms exclude or marginalize women from access to finance. The 
project undertook actions to promote access to credit inputs and equipment and to develop micro￾finance services and income-generating activities. In this way, women’s participation improved and 
money is now in a revolving fund for women’s income generating activities that include off-farm 
income generation.
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Loss of buyer
Limited Brands, who paid an inflated price, ended their contract with UNPCB. This forced CRS and 
UNPCB to revisit the UNPCB business model and establish a marketing plan. This decreased risk by 
diversifying the network of potential partners and buyers. Interviews with UNPCB reveal that CRS 
support and project activities are more relevant and respond to their needs to increase their capacity. 
Demonstration plots
Initially, CRS and UNPCB were unsure of the appropriateness of organic pesticides and fertilizer 
techniques in the daily lives of producers, given their time and resources available to production. To 
encourage appropriate technologies and innovation, CRS and UNPCB worked with the NGO Green 
Cross and INERA to develop demonstration plots and seed farms that tested new and different 
technologies and techniques. 
Demonstration plots are designed to introduce new technologies at the farm level. During 
implementation, producers can learn about and test new techniques by dividing the plot into two to 
four different treatment sections. Treatments are monitored and compared so that producers can 
determine the best method. INERA initially tested four different techniques per plot, however this 
posed challenges in comparison and choice for producers at the field level. If demonstration plots are 
limited to two different technologies, then producers can easily test and compare new treatments, 
ultimately adopting the new treatment technique.
Cotton gin
UNPCB shares SOFITEX’s cotton gins, which poses major challenges to the organic cotton production. 
The gins, which also process conventional cotton in April - May, need to be thoroughly cleaned to avoid 
contamination with the organic cotton. This delays payment and sales and effectually discourages 
producers. To overcome this challenge and become a majority shareholder, UNPCB builds and nurtures 
relationships with the main actors in the cotton sector and invests in creating an enabling environment 
for the existence and development of the organic cotton value chain. 
Failure to reach an average of one hectare per producer for organic cotton farms
Initial RECOLTE objectives included reaching an average of one hectare per producer for organic cotton 
farms. Organic cotton requires little input and no needed credit; thus, it is popular among vulnerable 
populations, especially women. However, women have little access to land. In reaching the goal of 
10,000 producers, there was a spike in the percentage of women producers in the project and the 
average farm size decreased to less than 0.6 hectares. CRS and UNPCB ultimately evaluated and 
adjusted this objective to reflect the reality of organic farming in Burkina Faso. In the project design 
phase, gender mainstreaming should be more strongly considered when defining goals. 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
Constraints and solutions for certification
The organic and FairTrade certification of the organic cotton produced in the RECOLTE project is by far 
the largest value-add to the agricultural product. It has a large impact on its international sales and 
revenue for UNPCB and producers. Organic certification adds 90 FCFA/kg, which is a 38% increase in 
price comparted to conventional cotton (235 FCFA/kg). FairTrade premium is 3 FCFA/kg, which then 
represents an almost 40% total increase in price compared to conventional cotton.
Yet, the certification comes with financial difficulties. One such difficulty is the cost of certification. 
Without the financial support of USDA and the RECOLTE project, UNPCB would have challenges to 
afford the yearly certification costs. A solution proposed is to exchange with the certifying bodies to 
57
encourage them to reduce certification costs, either as a form of partnership, or through competition 
among organizations.
Another financial challenge is the cost of GMO analysis. Currently, UNPCB sends cotton and seeds to 
France for analysis and certification. Not only does the entire process take about one month, it is also 
costly. A solution proposed is to seek accredited laboratories in Africa to reduce the GMO analytical 
costs, or to support the accreditation of a laboratory in Burkina or in the sub-region. 
Successful organic farming relies on strict adherence to compliance rules. To achieve this, it is essential 
to build grower capacity to ensure certified and fair products. It is therefore necessary to continue the 
training efforts which address the specific needs of the growers, especially to the benefit of the new 
members of the organic cotton program.
Constraints for companies to access information
The constraints for RECOLTE partners to access information: the main difficulty is the lack of availability 
of up-do-date program data on the UNPCB website. The partners wishing to access the information 
are forced to contact UNPCB by mail or through telephone exchanges. To allow producers to have
easier access to prices on the market, a solution is proposed to facilitate partnership agreements with 
SONAGES, which has a functional, sub-regional online Market Information System that reports on 
organic products. This would be key for UNPCB’s market information, which would thus impact their 
business strategy. Additionally, they would be able to share this same information with producers in 
the same way they have in the past, during annual site visits. 
Constraints on production and processing
With the loss of Limited Brands and the higher than average fixed purchase price, the price of organic 
cotton declined. This threatens organic cotton sector growth and the livelihoods of producers. To 
offset this price decrease, the development of a rotational crop market is recommended as a catalyst 
for the development of organic cotton. A solution proposed is to promote an enhanced UNPCB organic 
cotton value chain with the addition of other existing organic crops.
The late distribution of organic cotton seeds has a negative effect on the number of growers from one 
year to the next. Growers become discourage and grow other crops, or they quit. It is recommended 
that UNPCB undertake further methods to provide producers with a sufficient quantity of quality seeds 
in a timely manner.
The evaluation highlighted major constraints in the sub-sector, namely delays in payments and the 
availability of seeds. Difficulties in ginning are the main cause of these constraints. To remove these 
constraints and allow the project to reach the target of 10 000 producers, it is recommended to resolve 
the problem of ginning by setting up a plant dedicated specifically to organic cotton or striking an 
agreement with SOFITEX to allow organic cotton to be ginned first.
58
Annex 1: Results Framework
Results framework
59
100
Annex 5
5
: Mid -term activities achievement rate 2015-2016
Activities Indicators 2014 
(Baseline)
2015 2016 2015-2016
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Average 
achievement 
rate 
Conduct training 
on organic cotton 
production
Number of training 
courses for organic 
cotton Producers
0 2 1 200 2 1 200
200
Number of 
demonstration 
plots (school fields) 
established
0 158 125 126 208 125 160
146
Number of UNPCB 
head of areas and 
Organic Technique 
Agent trained as 
trainers
0 50 59 85 51 59 86
86
Conduct training 
on improved 
management of 
organic cotton 
farms
Number of UNPCB 
head of areas and 
Organic Technique 
Agent trained as 
trainers
47 48 59 80 51 59 86 84
 
5 The data reported here are those which are available at the MTE data collection period (July-August 2016).
101
Activities Indicators 2014 
(Baseline)
2015 2016 2015-2016
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Average 
achievement 
rate 
Facilitate the 
process of 
organic-fair 
certification of 
cotton
Number of Certified 
Producer Plots 7,976 7,136 8,000 89 8,4576 10,000 84
87
Develop 
cooperative 
management 
capacities
Number of UNPCB 
staff trained in 
management, 
financial 
management and 
operations
0 1,865 15 12,433 54 15 360 6,397
Develop 
Procurement 
Services
Number of kg of 
organic cotton seed 
purchased
1,000 0 1,350 0 2,600 1,350 192 96
Number of kg of 
organic rotation 
crop seed 
purchased
980 530 1,360 39 580 1,360 43 41
Number of 
foundation seed 
multiplication plots 
of organic cotton 
cultivated
0 1 1 100 1 1 100 100
 
6 The number of plots proposed to certification at MTE 
102
Activities Indicators 2014 
(Baseline)
2015 2016 2015-2016
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Average 
achievement 
rate 
Number of 
equipment 
subsidies provided
0 530 45 1,178 2,103 60 3,505 2,508
Number of organic 
cotton seed and 
rotational crop seed 
farms created
0 2 0 - 0 1 0 200
Improve post￾production 
operations, 
processing and 
handling
Number of training 
courses on post￾production, 
processing and 
handling operations
1 3 1 300 2 1 200 250
Number of training 
courses on 
improving ginning 
and storage 
conditions for 
cotton
0 1 1 100 1 1 100 100
Facilitating access 
to agricultural 
credit
Number of trainings 
held on new types 
of agricultural loans 
0 1 1 100 1 0 - 200
103
Activities Indicators 2014 
(Baseline)
2015 2016 2015-2016
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Achievement Target Achievement 
rate 
Average 
achievement 
rate 
Improving market 
access to increase 
organic cotton 
sales
Number of UNPCB 
Organic Techniques 
Agents heads of 
Areas trained 
0 59 59 100 4 59 7 53
Facilitate dialog 
on organic cotton 
production policy 
and regulation 
Number of 
roundtables 
organized
0 1 1 100 1 1 100 100
 Awareness￾raising on gender 
and the 
prevention of 
child labor
Number of training 
sessions on gender 
and child labor 
prevention 
awareness-raising
0 1 1 100 1 1 100 100
104
Annex 67
: Mid -term outcomes achievement rate 2015-2016
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
Contributions to Feed 
the Future
Number of hectares where improved techniques and technologies are 
applied as a result of USDA assistance 0 3,792 6,000 63
Number of Producers and others applying new technologies and 
techniques as a result of USDA assistance 0 6,243 8,000 78
Number of individual beneficiaries who received short courses on 
agricultural productivity and food security as a result of USDA 
assistance
0 7,844 10,000 78
Value of agricultural and rural loans secured as USDA assistance ($) 0 0 150,000 0
Number of public-private partnerships established as a result of USDA 
assistance 0 4 1 400
Number of Producers and others who apply improved production unit 
management techniques (governance, administrative and financial 
management) as a result of USDA assistance
0 5,562 7,000 79
Percentage of Producers who have attended at least three types of 
training on the management of production units 0 39 95 41
 
7 The data reported here are those which are available at the MTE data collection period (July-August 2016).
105
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
Number of producers and others who have received training on 
improved farm management practices (eg, Governance, 
Administration)
0 7,698 10,000 77
Number of individual beneficiaries who received short-term training 
on water and soil conservation and agroforestry activities as a result 
of USDA assistance
0 4,207 8,820 48
Number of Producers using financial services as a result of USDA 
assistance 0 0 600 0
Number of Producers and others who received training on improved 
agricultural techniques and technologies as a result of USDA 
assistance
0 7,874 10,000 78
Increased agricultural 
productivity
Product / harvested volume of selected crops per hectare (kg / ha):
cotton
470 287 600 48
Monetary value of per hectare production (CFAF) 152,000 107,625 N/A
Average area cultivated per Producer (ha) 0,6 0,6 1 60
Number of individual direct beneficiaries reached by USDA 
intervention 0 8,020 10,080 80
Number of indirect individual beneficiaries reached by USDA 
intervention 0 64,160 50,000 128
106
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
Number of public-private partnerships established as a result of USDA 
assistance 0 4 1 400
The contribution of 
private sector 
resources is 
increased
Number of private institutions that have made a monetary or in-kind 
contribution to increasing agricultural productivity (inputs, markets, 
information, research)
1 7 1 700
Number of new and improved managerial practices implemented by 
UNPCB 0 0 1 0
The capacities of the 
main agricultural 
productivity groups 
(cooperatives, 
smallholder 
grouping) are 
improved
Number of producers enrolled in the UNPCB organic cotton production 
program
6,000 7,793 10,000 78
Value of budget / income of target associations and cooperatives ($ 
USD) 2,964,272 1,028,300 4,800,000
Percentage of soils that meet quality standards (to be determined) 78.57 Endline N/A
Soil and water 
quality improved
Number of hectares where improved techniques and technologies are 
practiced as a result of USDA assistance 0 3,792 6,000 63
Use of improved 
agricultural 
technologies and 
Number of Producers applying new agricultural technologies and 
technologies 0 6,243 8,000 78
107
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
technologies has 
increased Volume of seed produced / harvested per seed farm per hectare (yield) 0 0 300 0
Availability of quality 
inputs availability has 
improved 
Number or percentage of public agricultural research or extension 
institutions with enough infrastructure and supplies 0 1 1 100
The capacity of 
public institutions is 
strengthened
Number of individual beneficiaries who benefited from short training 
courses on agricultural productivity and food security through USG 
funds
0 7,698 10,000 77
Number of Producers and others trained in financial services as a 
result of USDA assistance 0 0 600 0
Increased use of 
financial services
Number of loans secured for Producers and others as a result of USDA 
assistance 0 0 600 0
Value of agricultural and rural loans secured for Producers as a result 
of USDA assistance 0 0 150,000 0
Number of individual beneficiaries who benefited short courses on 
agricultural productivity and food security as a result of USDA 
assistance
0 7,844 10,000 78
108
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
Producers knowledge 
of improved 
techniques and 
technologies 
improved
Number of Producers and others who benefited from training on 
improved agricultural techniques and technologies through 
assistance from the USDA
0 7,874 10,000 78
Percentage of Producers in the area who can explain the main 
applications and benefits of the new crop rotation technique 42 63 70 90
Number of Producer and others who benefited from USDA training in 
production unit management (governance, administration and 
financial management)
0 7,698 1,000 77
Production unit 
management
(Finance and 
operations) is 
improved
Number of Producers and others who apply improved techniques with 
regard to the management of production units (governance, 
administration, finance)
0 5,562 7,000 79
Values of selected agricultural products in international or sub￾regional cotton fiber and seed trade ($ USD) 2,818,528 756,379 4,785,000 16
Increase agricultural 
products trade 
(national, sub￾regional, 
international 
Volume of selected agricultural products in international or sub￾regional trade (tons) 2,000 1,170 3,300 35
Number of public-private partnerships that have resulted in private 
sector resource contributions 1 0 2 0
109
Outcome Indicators
Baseline Midterm
2018 target
% of 
achieveme
2014 2016 nt rate 
Number of surveyed Producers who report having improved post￾production operations for rotational crops 0 4,884 6,000 81
Private sector 
resource 
contribution 
increased
N/A
The use of post￾production 
operations, 
processing and 
handling is improved
Number of countries where selected products are exported to 1 2 1 200
Access to quality 
market information 
is improved
Percentage of farmers who have accessed current market information 
in the last week /month 0 - 85 -
Improve market 
access to increase 
organic cotton sales
Number of countries to which selected agricultural products are 
exported 1 2 1 200
110
Annex 7 : Focus groups distribution, RECOLTE project intervention area 
Areas Province Village GPCB name Group type Cohort Number of GPCB
Fada 
N’Gourma Gourma
Mixed Cohort 1
4
Mixed Cohort 2
Mixed Cohort 2
Mixed Cohort 1
Tenkodogo Boulgou
Mixed Cohort 1
6
Mixed Cohort 1
Mixed Cohort 1
Mixed Cohort 1
Mixed Cohort2
Mixed Cohort 2
Nayala Nayala
Female Cohort 1
4
Mixed Cohort 2
Mixed Cohort 2
Mixed Cohort 1
Ioba
Bougouriba
Mixed Cohort 1
4
Mixed Cohort2
Ioba
Mixed Cohort 1
Mixed Cohort 2
Ziro Sissili Mixed Cohort 2 4
111
Mixed Cohort 2
Bazèga Mixed Cohort 1
Sissili Mixed Cohort 1
Oubritenga Oubritenga
Mixed Cohort 1
Mixed Cohort 1 3
Mixed Cohort 2
Banfora Comoé
Mixed Cohort 1
2
Mixed Cohort 1
TOTAL
27 including 1 female and 
26 mixed
11 in 2014 & 16 in 2013