HortiPlus: horticulture businesses and compost

The challenge

HortiPlus aims to raise production, income and nutrition through Burkina Faso's horticulture sector. Small horticulture businesses and compost producers were working in isolation, with weak marketing and management. Compost quality varied from batch to batch, so farmers and buyers could not rely on it.

What we did

• Ran diagnostics and coaching for horticulture SMEs on marketing, management, finance and business-to-business sales.
• Led the compost quality strategy, improving recipes, processes and costs with producers.
• Wrote crop factsheets and ran masterclasses on tomato, onion and amaranth.
• Linked priority SMEs to retailers, hotels and restaurants, and regional buyers.

Results

• Priority SMEs in Cohorts 1 and 2 received coaching tied to their growth targets.
• Compost producers have laboratory results, revised recipes and quality benchmarks for target crops.
• Factsheets, masterclasses, cost-of-production templates and SME action plans produced and in use.