August 27, 2021

Towards democratization of organic agriculture in Burkina Faso

Fresh Produce

Burkina Faso

At 36, Claude Arsène Sawadogo is the founder of BioProtect, a Burkinabè company that focuses on the promotion of agroecology and organic agriculture. Considered to be only for a specific segment of the population, the consumption of organic products has long been out of reach for low-income consumers. In Burkina Faso, Mr. Sawadogo and his team, in partnership with 2SCALE, aim to break this myth and put these products within everyone's reach.

In the words of the young entrepreneur, BioProtect aims to democratize organic agriculture. To date, organic agriculture is taking a fairly important place in Burkina Faso. Between 2018 and 2019, the areas planted with organic products have almost doubled. This shows the enthusiasm that farmers and consumers have for organic and ecological products. From an environmental point of view, organic farming preserves biodiversity and improves soil fertility in a sustainable way. According to the founder Mr. Sawadogo, everyone has the right to eat healthy, hence his firm desire to develop this sector for the happiness of farmers and to make the products more affordable to the general public.

Everyone has the right to eat quality products. It's not only the wealthier classes that have this right. All the work we do is to ensure that everyone has access to these healthy and quality foods. To achieve this, we work with farmers to improve yields and productivity. We are also working with consumers so that they no longer worry about breaking the myth that organic food is reserved for a specific class.

Organic is not a luxury

Demystifying access to organic products is a major challenge for BioProtect in Burkina Faso. According to Mr. Sawadogo, the company intends to make organic products a common consumer product. To do so, it is necessary to change attitudes, because for many people organic products are expensive and inaccessible. To argue this opinion, he tells the specific case of a customer which took place a short time ago in one of his outlets.

A few weeks ago, I was at the store here. A lady was stopped outside for about ten minutes, hesitating to come in, because she thought it was more expensive here. When she entered, she asked me in the local language (can we buy things here?). This shows how, in people's minds, ecological and organic products are meant for a certain social category. She wanted baobab leaves, with some amaranth and okra. When she took it, she exclaimed that it was cheaper than the open market. So there is always this myth that we must succeed in breaking, because it is a major challenge that is there.

As part of the 2SCALE partnership, BioProtect's ambition is to be able to market 5,000 tons of products by 2023, which is 10 times the volume currently marketed by the company. The aim is also to reach 10,000 smallholder farmers by engaging them in an ecological and organic production process, in order to bring 15,000 consumers, especially those with low incomes, to have access to ecological and organic products. To reach this volume, it is necessary on the one hand to optimize production to increase yields, and on the other hand, to increase the number of producers.

Convincing farmers to change their production methods

Nowadays, farmers are aware of soil degradation and the loss of biodiversity. They are also aware that products grown with certain pesticides and herbicides are harmful to human health. But they face a constraint - the market - because instead of looking at the intrinsic quality of the products, consumers look at the price. Therefore BioProtect remains convinced that only the market can be the lever to lead producers towards much more sustainable means of production. Thanks to its other component, which is the formulation of organic inputs, including bio-pesticides and fertilizers, in its collaboration with producers, the company facilitates access to inputs at discounted prices at the beginning of the agricultural season, and allows them to pay the balances after the harvest. In addition, the company provides technical and marketing support.

Many farmers want to move towards production that protects the environment and the health of consumers, but at the same time they need to be competitive in the market. Because those who practice conventional agriculture are subsidized by the government. On the other hand, those who do ecological and organic farming are not subsidized. So they want to take the step, but they need to be supported and accompanied. This is why we promote these practices while trying to create a favorable economic environment so that many farmers go towards these eco-efficient production methods.

So many challenges to face!

Many challenges hinder the development of this innovative agricultural sector. In addition to the public's perception of agroecology, subsidies, the workforce as well as market access are other difficulties to be faced. While conventional agriculture is heavily subsidized, those who engage in ecological agriculture are forced to rely on their own resources. Without proper mechanization and workforce, it is difficult to control weeds without using herbicides. However, the labour force of young people is becoming increasingly scarce in the farming community.

In light of all these challenges, BioProtect has great ambitions. These ambitions, according to Mr. Sawadogo, are dreams that motivate the company to move forward despite the difficulties.

One of BioProtect's biggest dreams is to change the common thinking of most people who believe that organic agriculture or agroecology is reserved for those who have more means, and that it is not enough to feed the population, because it does not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides etc. So the first challenge is to change this perception vis-à-vis agroecology. Our ambition is also to make agroecology the dominant production model in Burkina Faso. To make sure that at least one farmer out of two can produce according to the rules of organic agriculture. Finally, another big dream is that the consumption of organic products is no longer destined to a wealthy class. That all populations can have access to these quality and healthy products.

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