(FILES) A woman carries leaves for sale at the Dantokpa market, one of the largest open-air market in West Africa, in Cotonou, Benin, on February 29, 2024. The US on March 27, 2024, launched a new initiative to boost imports of African foods, specialties like seafood, nuts and herbs, seeing untapped potential in items that benefit small-scale farmers. The new Africa Trade Desk aims to increase African imports into the US by $300 million over the next 18 months, marking a 10 percent increase in the continent's agricultural exports to the world's largest economy. (Photo by Abadjaye Justin SODOGANDJI / AFP) (Photo by ABADJAYE JUSTIN SODOGANDJI/AFP via Getty Images)