1. Quality Standards and Market Access: Case Study of the Senegalese Groundnut Sector
Aly MBAYE
Director, Centre for Applied Economic Research (CREA)
Cheikh Anta Diop University
Senegal

2. The project: key issues
Importance of competitiveness for countries in West Africa
Importance of quality standards management as a determinant of competitiveness
Specific situation of the groundnut sector in Senegal: global demand and domestic supply
Costs, benefits and implementation problems of quality standards in groundnut production

3. Challenges (1) Conceptual challenge
Make students conduct a critical analysis and provide them with a practical experience of carrying out a survey
Challenges for students in collecting information
Have the necessary self-confidence to collect the right information, be able to gain trust of the interviewee

4. Challenges (2) Challenges posed by the interviewees
Reluctance of policy makers to give information
Interviewees may try to manipulate the results of the survey
Policy makers may mix policy statements and factual information in their answers

5. What would I have done differently
I would have employed the two best students as research assistants
I would have waited for the analysis to be completed before including the case in an exercise for the other students