Creating value where the raw materials are grown

Gebana Burkina Faso operates in Bobo-Dioulasso in western Burkina Faso. The company has its roots in the former gebana Afrique and works with farming families who grow cashews and mangos organically. Pakka has been a partner since 2018 and holds a 20% stake in gebana Burkina Faso. This means that the collaboration is not only focused on procurement, but also on the long-term development of local value creation.​

Cashews are an important export product for Burkina Faso. However, a large proportion of West African cashews are transported to Asia as raw material, where they are cracked and only then resold. As a result, jobs and a significant portion of the value added are lost in the producing countries. Gebana Burkina Faso has deliberately chosen a different approach: the cashews are processed locally in Bobo-Dioulasso and exported directly to Europe.​

From mango to cashew

Gebana’s work in Burkina Faso began with dried mangos. As the mango season is short-lived, the idea of supplementing this with cashew processing emerged early on. Cashews can be stored after harvesting and processed throughout the year. This allows production facilities to be utilised more efficiently and helps to create more stable employment.

Today, gebana buys mangos and cashew nuts from local farming families and cooperatives in Burkina Faso. Around 20 field agents are in regular contact with the farming families, supporting them with organic certification and running training sessions on organic farming. In addition to the organic and Fairtrade price, Pakka pays the Fairtrade premium for community projects.

Processing with a social impact

Cashew processing is labour-intensive. Although machines handle a large proportion of the steps in the current production process, much of the work is still done by hand: cashews that cannot be processed cleanly by the machines are cracked, shelled or sorted manually. Many of the workers in processing are women. Working in the factory provides them with a regular income, an employment contract, and social and health insurance. For employees with children, there is also a company crèche and a medical centre available.​

In this way, gebana Burkina Faso is not only boosting exports of organic and Fairtrade products, but also boosting local employment. This is particularly important in a country where formal employment opportunities are limited. Local processing brings together agricultural production, industrial processing and direct market access.

La Belle Usine: a new factory for cashews and mangos

Today, the main products are organic walnuts, almonds, apricot kernels, peanuts and pistachios, as well as sour cherries, sweet cherries, strawberries, pomegranates, wild apricots, wild plums, black mulberries, various types of raisins (Sultana, green Khorog, Manucca, Black Beauty and Black Bukhara) and much more. All products are organic, and the majority are also available in Fairtrade quality. Silk Road Organik Foods’ products are used worldwide in retail and as ingredients in high-quality organic foods.​

Local processing and value creation

With its new factory, ‘La Belle Usine’, gebana Burkina Faso is further expanding its processing operations. The new facility is located on the outskirts of Bobo-Dioulasso and is set to significantly increase capacity. The first cashews were cracked there in November 2025; at that time, 160 employees were already working at the new factory. As part of the ongoing expansion, further production lines are to follow, including for mango processing. gebana expects to have around 950 employees on site by 2026.​

In the long term, the factory will create additional jobs and provide greater opportunities for more farming families. The production capacity for cashews is set to rise from 300 to 2,000 tonnes, and the volume of mangos processed from 684 to 1,500 tonnes per year. This will allow more value to be retained in Burkina Faso, rather than raw materials being exported unprocessed.

A partnership with a future

The partnership between Pakka and gebana Burkina Faso is designed to have a long-term impact. It combines fair sourcing, organic farming, local processing and investment in infrastructure. For farming families, the partnership means guaranteed sales channels, organic and Fairtrade prices, training and development opportunities. For factory workers, it creates formal jobs with social benefits.

With the new factory, this impact will continue to grow. More cashews and mangos can be processed right where they are grown. This means that jobs, expertise and a larger share of the value added remain in Burkina Faso.