Sesame oil extraction and processing is another alternative made available for Honduran growers through a Brazil - United States - Honduras trilateral cooperation program that aims at reducing poverty and hunger and strengthening agricultural production in that country. At the end of August, authorities from the Honduras Agricultural Technology Science Directorate (Dirección de Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria - Dicta), a body that is analogous to Embrapa and is under the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock (Secretaría de Agricultura y Ganadería - SAG) promoted a demonstration in Tegulcigalpa, the capital, on how to perform sesame oil extraction and on the potential of the crop for the country's economy. "Sesame oil extraction is among the most recent research developed by SAG technicians and it is available for farmers in the country", SAG informs.

The trilateral cooperation agreement started in 2013 and aims at validating several technologies to improve family farming in the Dry Corridor in Honduras (an area that is similar to the Brazilian Semiarid), through four projects regarding cashew, sesame, food security and beekeeping.

The capacity-building and technology transfer activities are implemented through a partnership the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) established with the University of Florida, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (Agência Brasileira de Cooperação - ABC), Embrapa, and SAG.

Currently, sesame oil extraction is at a validation stage alongside farmers. The residue from the processing is used to manufacture sesame flour, a concentrate that contains about 40% protein, and thus results in 100% of the product being used.

Honduras produces 1,200 to 2,000 tons of sesame per year. There are currently 850 farmers involved in the cultivation. Out of the nine sesame varieties promoted by SAG, two were developed by Embrapa (BRS Seda and BRS 196). According to SAG, Japan, the largest importer of Honduran sesame, demands 3,500 tons of sesame per year.

Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros