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Developing organic farming systemically in Burkina Faso
“They have a phenomenal approach. The words are strong, but totally justified, according to Johan Thuard, Partnership Officer at SIDI. Bioprotect has a very specific positioning: the company aims to develop and enhance the organic market in Burkina-Faso in a systemic way, by getting involved in the supply and demand of organic products.
This approach is twofold. The first is to enable producers to produce organically. This is achieved through the training provided by Bioprotect teams to small-scale growers, as well as through the sale of bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers from the company’s own R&D. These products improve soil fertility, control pests and diseases, and provide attractive yields for growers.
Bioprotect is actively working to create outlets for producers, notably through the creation of sales outlets for their market garden produce, and the sale of organic sesame locally and for export. Other sectors are also under study.
Bioprotect places small-scale producers at the heart of its business model and, through each of its initiatives, aims to improve their resilience. This approach has the power to act as a virtuous circle, encouraging producers to adopt a more sustainable form of agriculture and helping to democratize organic farming in Burkina-Faso. The company has set itself the target of working with 10,000 producers by 2030.
An example of SIDI’s mission
The partnership between Bioprotect and SIDI seemed a natural one, since one of SIDI’s main missions is “to help develop rural economies in order to have a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable populations”, explains Johan. Bioprotect’s environmental credentials are also important, given the French social investor’s commitment to promoting more environmentally-friendly industries. Against a backdrop of climatic tension, SIDI has placed ecological and social transition at the heart of its activities.
It is in this kind of partnership that SIDI’s action really comes into its own. Bioprotect is run by a visionary entrepreneur, Arsène Savadogo, who manages a small, young and dynamic team. The company has great potential, but also limited resources, which at times constrain its activity. In this context, SIDI can contribute to the development of the company through its two levers of action: financing and support. SIDI has been financing part of Bioprotect’s sesame activities since 2021.
A complicated country context
Based in Ouagadougou, Bioprotect works with producers in several regions of the country. The deterioration in the security situation is making activities more complicated in certain areas that are no longer accessible. Burkina Faso is plagued by repeated terrorist attacks, and today, according to some estimates, almost 40% of the territory is outside state control.
Against this backdrop, Arsène and his team show great resilience and solidarity in coping with the situation. For example, the team has opened new sesame production zones closer to the capital, Ouagadougou. At the same time, the company continues to source and market sesame from producers in areas affected by the security crisis. However, because Bioprotect is no longer able to go out into the field and ensure that organic practices are applied correctly, sales are made on the conventional market.
As far as SIDI is concerned, the geopolitical situation has not altered the partnership we have established with Bioprotect or with our other partners in Burkina Faso. Johan explains, “Our socially responsible shareholding gives us the flexibility to take risks and pushes us to invest in complicated contexts to finance organizations that have a positive social and environmental footprint locally”. For SIDI, the aim is to maintain a long-term presence in the country, even as the situation deteriorates, in order to support its partners and the people of Burkina Faso.
