Demand for cashews has risen dramatically in recent years. Currently HALBA sources one third of all its organic and fair-trade certified cashews from gebana. In order to increase this, Coop and HALBA are supporting gebana in expanding its value chain for sustainable cashews in Burkina Faso.
The project supported by gebana, the Coop Sustainability Fund and HALBA is helping the mango and cashew producers in Bobo Dioulasso move into dynamic agroforestry. This cultivation method improves soil quality, thus increasing yields and enabling farmers to plant beans or cereal crops, giving them more diverse income sources and contributing to food security.
Specifically cultivating a mix of cashews and mangos in combination with local species of trees and shrubs combats desertification in the Sahel, the transitional zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the humid savannas to the south, and is a world first.
As well as having more diversified income sources, the farming families will also benefit from organic and fair-trade premiums.
On site, gebana is planning a new factory which will create added value and 1,000 new jobs in Burkina Faso. The factory will have an exemplary energy and waste management system; cashew nutshells will be used as fuel to produce the heat needed for processing the mangos and cashews.
The goal: for half of all organic and fair-trade certified cashews to be sourced from Burkina Faso and for sustainable added value to be created there.
More information at: www.gebana.com/en/farmers-places/