BURKINATURE
ABOUT
In Africa, many farmers produce without chemical inputs but do not sell organic products to the outside world because they do not have the structure, legal basis or organisation to export to Europe or the United States.
Originally from the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, Mr Claude Bovey obtained a degree in forestry engineering from the Zurich Polytechnic. He then worked for a few years in Switzerland in this field before setting up as a farmer in the Aude region in France. His farm is entirely organic and has a flock of around 100 sheep. He sees the future of agriculture through organic farming because beyond having organic food on your plate, it is a responsible production that is concerned about the future of our planet and the soil.
At the end of a project that he carried out with a Swiss NGO with the aim of improving the work with dryers for dried mangoes, he created Burkinature SARL in 1998.
Its teams manage the production of fresh and dried fruit in Burkina Faso and export a large part of it to Europe.
The first major challenge was to make it possible to market the products under the organic label by organising the organic and fairtrade certification of the orchards and fields in accordance with the requirements of internationally recognised certification bodies such as Ecocert or Certysis.
Today, thanks to this work and experience, Burkinature has established itself as one of the leading exporters of organic food products in Burkina Faso.
Dried mango production employs thousands of women in Burkina. The aim is to continue to pass on know-how that will last over the years and enable the actors in this sector to develop their purchasing power and improve their standard of living.
All those involved in dried mangoes have played a major role in the economic growth of the Bobo waterfall area.