Coop Switzerland relies on sustainable cashews and mangoes from Burkina Faso
Coop Switzerland has set itself the goal of supporting the sustainable cultivation and processing of cashew nuts and mangoes in Burkina Faso together with HALBA and gebana. Thanks to dynamic agroforestry, the yields are increased in the long term and the income of the farming families diversified, they report.
The demand for cashew nuts has risen sharply in recent years. Currently, a third of all organic and Fairtrade certified cashew nuts in our HALBA production come from gebana. To ensure that this value increases in the future, we are supporting gebana in expanding the sustainable cashew value chain in Burkina Faso. Because the local challenges are great: increasing desertification, soil erosion, but also low incomes and low added value throughout the country.
Red cashew apples / Image: Coop / Gebana
Lighthouse project secures the future of local farming families
The project supported by HALBA, gebana and the Coop Fund for Sustainability teaches mango and cashew producers in Bobo Dioulasso the basics of dynamic agroforestry. Its advantages are obvious:
The cultivation method improves soil quality and results in less erosion, higher fertility, stable yields and good quality.
The targeted mixed cultivation of cashew nuts and mango in combination with local tree species and shrubs counteracts desertification in the Sahel zone, the transition zone between the Sahara in the north and the humid savannah in the south.
At the same time, improved soil quality enables beans or grain to be grown, diversifies farmers’ incomes and contributes to food security. Farming families benefit from organic and fair trade premiums that ensure a stable income.
Locals are trained as local agroforestry trainers who pass on their knowledge to other producers. The use of dynamic agroforestry in the Sahel zone is unique in the world and an absolute lighthouse project.
New factory creates local value
At the same time, gebana is planning a new factory on site in order to create additional added value and jobs in Burkina Faso. The factory will have an exemplary “energy and waste management”. Cashew shells, for example, are used to generate the heat needed for mango and cashew processing. This will create 1,000 new jobs and new sales opportunities for thousands of farming families.
The dried mangoes and cashew nuts are available from Coop as organic and Fairtrade-certified products. The goal: In the future, half of all organic and Fairtrade-certified cashews should come from Burkina Faso and the added value in the country of origin should be sustainably promoted.
For more informations:
www.gebana.com/burkina-faso