In Salogo, a rural commune in the region of Plateau Central in Burkina Faso, agro-sylvo-pastoral activities occupy more than 90% of the population who derive most of their income from them. Yet, many households are plagued by poverty and food insecurity. Taking advantage of the presence of surface water reserves, many

One year after its official launch, Kevin DOAMBA’s pyramid for soilless culture has improved and is proving to be successful with populations. Kevin has been solicited by several people who want to acquire his structure for soilless culture of crops. Those who have tested the product, especially women, affirm tha

In Burkina Faso, less than 20% of agro-sylvo-pastoral products are processed. This low level of processing not only increases the risk of post-harvest losses, but limits income opportunities for local stakeholders. To address this issue, the Drylands Development Programme (DryDev), through its implementing partners, SN

In Burkina Faso, the long dry season rhymes less and less with idleness among farmers. Many are engaged in crop production, which is now one of the main income-generating activities during this period. But without training and lack of resources, many of them are facing difficulties. And the major constraint is the avai

In Dédougou, in Burkina Faso, a mini-dairy is changing lives of rural women since February 2012. Supported by the Regional Council and maintained by the union of breeders and producers in the region the mini-dairy Soudou Kossam is an answer to women’s empowerment.

In Loumbila, located some 20 km from Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, Euloge Tapsoba is processing corn into different products. Euloge founded his company, ALEPA, in 2007 when he was still a student. At the beginning he was just buying and selling the corn. But later, he realised that he was losing an Read More

In Kpomassè, 60 km from Cotonou, Euphrasie DASSOUNDO has set up a processing unit for vegetables. She wants to reduce post-harvest losses. Euphrasie started her company with 30,000 FCFA in 2013, and her main activity was to process tomato into paste. Her first challenge was to get people to accept the product which wa

Faïçal PALENFO is an engineer in animal production. After graduation, he created FASO ELEVAGE, a company specialised in training, monitoring of farms, designing and selling livestock equipment. Faïçal started poultry farming at home and soon realised that it was his passion. Instead of looking for a job, which he p

Three young people, Fabrice Armand SANDWIDI (General Manager), Siaka TRAORÉ (Technical Director), and Aminata Roselyne OUÉDRAOGO (Sales Director) are leading the largest livestock feed factory in Burkina Faso. SOFAB was created in 2009. It was born from an initiative of farmers organised in cooperative, who asked the

In Kovié, in the south of Togo, the introduction of a drip irrigation system is changing the life of women vegetable growers. Access to water was a big challenge for the women. They had to walk several kilometres to get water and carry the bucket on their head. And the fact that it was a Read More

Women from the “Egbèlayo” cooperative of mahogany transformers are trained in the photovoltaic solar system. Due to lack of electricity, the women were facing a lot of difficulties and they could not work at night. In the darkness, they were also faced with dangers related to animals in the bush and also o

Caludia TOGBE, holds 3 masters’ degrees. With just 12.000 FCFA, she started to manufacture hair and dermatological products based on natural products. Marketed today under the brand “Origine Terre”. Caludia had a skin disease when she was younger and it did not heal with the products available on the market. One

Florence BASSONO is an executive assistant by training. She created FASO ATTIEKE, a company that processes and markets local cassava. Being under threat of being sacked by her employer, Florence began to look for business ideas. She first tries trade, but it was a failure. This activity was not made for her. In a secon

Ismaël OUÉDRAOGO, is a technician for animal husbandry. He created FASO GRAIN, a company that manufactures and markets feed for livestock. While advising breeders on how to use raw materials in the manufacture of livestock feed, Ismaël realised that they had problems acquiring the raw materials, as well as mixing th

After completing koranic school in Mali, Yacouba Sawadogo came back to his village in Burkina Faso and started trading. While he prospered in this business, he also noticed that the land was degraded where he lived, and people were moving to other regions as nothing was growing there anymore. Yacouba began to experimen

Serge Trésor Ngatchi, a graduate in transport and logistics, created “Allô Poulet” in 2017, a chain of production, processing and distribution of chickens. After his studies, Serge wanted to do something differently, an activity that would also enable him to have some free time. He decided to go to Dubai

These stoves are quite particular because to burn the husks of palm nuts, we need a bit of oxygen. Therefore, this stove is equipped with a solar panel that enables to charge the battery and send oxygen in the combustion chamber. Since we already have solar energy that is stored, we have taken the opportunityRead More

In 2002, Sabine NANA and her friends left Côte d’Ivoire during the war. They are rebuilding their lives in Burkina Faso through the processing of cassava into fresh and dried attiéké (cassava couscous). Sabine and her friends started their business in shea butter and sprouted millet, but it was not profitable

Rihana TRAORE is a chartered accountant in the United States. In 2017, she created Diman-ni Organics, a company specialised in the marketing and distribution of processed agricultural products from Burkina Faso to international markets. According to Rihana, one of the main reasons why Burkinabè products are not availa

Seynabou DIENG TRAORE has a degree in communication. Through her company, “Maya Agroalimentaire”, she offers various marinades and organic spices ready to serve. When Seynabou came back to Mali in 2015, she noticed that other working women were consuming of lot of imported products. Local products were available bu