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Abstract
The most recent literature on international trade highlights the key role of Global Value Chains in structural transformation, development and growth. The connection to global networks may represent an opportunity for supporting the on-going transformations of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in agriculture and food markets. In this paper, we give a description of GVC-related trade for Burkina Faso in order to assess the geographical and sectoral trade diversification in terms of value-added content along international chains. A new modelling Trade in Value Added module is introduced to the GTAP model and used to empirically assess the impact of a regional trade agreement on Burkina Faso’s backward and forward connections of agriculture and food sectors. Our findings support the view that a more liberalized regional market would strengthen regional integration and boost the participation in international production networks, both through backward and forward linkages.