Revitalising Burkina Faso’s mango sector
The mango sector is one of Burkina Faso’s largest rural employers. Sector estimates suggest that more than 374,000 people depend on mangoes for their livelihoods.
At dawn in the orchards outside Bobo-Dioulasso, women and men move between rows of mango trees, bending to collect fallen fruit before the heat settles in.
“It’s quiet at this hour,” said Coulibaly Mamadou, a farmer from the nearby village of Sidi. “But this is when you see if your harvest will survive the day.”
What looks like a simple rural routine is in fact part of one of Burkina Faso’s most valuable agricultural industries. Mangoes account for around half of Burkina Faso’s fruit production, and the country is among Africa’s leading exporters of fresh and dried mango. The sector produces roughly 120,000 tonnes annually and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across production, transport, and processing, particularly in the southwest and central regions.
Much of the industry is geared toward Europe’s demand for organic, dried mango, a niche that has turned Burkina Faso into a leading supplier for premium markets. Yet despite its scale and reputation for high environmental and social standards, the mango economy is approaching a crossroads.
Climate pressure on a growing sector
Production has remained broadly stable over the past five years, with orchards covering about 15,000 hectares, mainly in the Sudanese agro-ecological zone. But farmers say stability is becoming harder to sustain.
“The rains don’t come when they used to,” Mamadou said. “The heat is stronger, and the pests arrive earlier. You feel it in the trees.”
Climate stress, declining soil fertility and rising pest pressure are eroding yields. Fruit flies alone can wipe out entire harvests, while unpredictable rainfall is shortening flowering periods. Post-harvest losses remain high, and many smallholders still rely on aging trees that are increasingly vulnerable to disease.
“At some point, we thought the trees were finished,” Mamadou said. “When they became sick, we didn’t know how to save them. We just watched them decline.”
That changed after he attended a training session supported by Green Mango for Better Livelihoods project.
“Now, when a tree is sick, I cut the infected branch immediately,” he said. “Before, we did nothing. That one lesson changed how I manage my orchard.”
Energy, waste and market pressure
For processors, the constraints are different but just as costly. Energy prices, waste disposal and certification requirements have become decisive barriers to accessing premium markets.
“You can produce a lot,” said the manager at the Rose Eclat dried mango facility, “but if you cannot meet European standards, your mango has no value. Certification and energy are now the real bottlenecks.”
The mango sector is one of Burkina Faso’s largest rural employers. From orchard workers and transporters to sorting and drying staff, sector estimates suggest that more than 374,000 people depend on mangoes for their livelihoods
Women dominate the processing stage, where sliced mangoes are dried for export.
“When the dryers stop, people stop working,” continued the Manager. “Energy decides whether we can operate or not.”
A system under pressure to adapt
In response, new approaches are being tested. Development programmes such as Green Mango for Better Livelihoods, led by SNV and partners are promoting renewable energy, climate-smart farming and international certifications as a way to keep Burkina Faso competitive.
At one processing site, mango waste is now converted into biogas to power drying operations, reducing both fuel costs and emissions. Solar dryers are replacing diesel-based systems, while producers are being trained to rehabilitate old trees, make compost and control pests through orchard sanitation rather than heavy chemical use.
“These changes are no longer optional,” said Zidouemba, Honoré, SNV’s project Manager for Green Mango. “They are becoming the price of entry to the global market.”
We cannot farm the way we used to. The climate has changed, the market has changed, so we must change too."
Coulibaly Mamadou, a mango farmer in the village of Sidi
Burkina Faso’s mango industry has already proven it can grow. Between 2014 and 2020, dried mango output increased more than fivefold, pushing export revenues sharply higher. But global buyers are now demanding more than volume—they want traceability, sustainability and resilience to climate shocks.
For Mamadou, the shift is deeply personal.
“If the orchard survives, my family survives,” he said. “Mango is not just a crop. It is our future.”
He looked across his trees, some newly pruned, others still struggling.
“We cannot farm the way we used to,” he said. “The climate has changed. The market has changed. So we must change too.”
Whether Burkina Faso’s mango economy can make that transition—from volume to value, from tradition to resilience—may decide the future of one of the country’s most important rural industries.