Burkina Faso | Improved seed varieties

2026 Top Agri-food Pioneers: Abdoulaye Sawadogo

Abdoulaye Sawadogo founded Neema Agricole du Faso (NAFASO SA), a private enterprise dedicated to the production and distribution of improved seeds, in 2008. Today, NAFASO actively contributes to the development of African agriculture by producing more than 10,000 tonnes of improved seeds annually, reaching nearly 1.14 million smallholder farmers. Beyond seed production and distribution, NAFASO’s operations include local rice processing, aquaculture and reforestation supported by two rice processing plants and a modern seed cleaning and packaging facility. In 2018, during the Ebola pandemic, NAFASO delivered nearly 11,219 tonnes of seeds to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Sawadogo and NAFASO have received international recognition for distributing improved seeds, including from UPA Canada, the Crans Montana Forum and Kofi Annan.