How Organic Fertilizer Cultivates Sustainable Success

BioPhyto has become one of West Africa’s most promising champions of sustainable agriculture. Founded in Benin and now ready to operate internationally, the company’s work illustrates how local innovation, backed by strategic partnerships and targeted development finance, can reshape entire agricultural value chains. Among the actors contributing to its rise, BIO, alongside other Belgian partners such as Enabel, Kampani, and the Belgian Embassy in Cotonou, has played a decisive role.

A Company Redefining Agriculture in Benin

BIOPHYTO is a Beninese company specializing in producing and commercializing organic fertilizers and biopesticides. Operating from Allada, the company uses locally sourced raw materials, particularly neem seeds and aromatic plants, to create biological inputs that are safer for farmers, consumers, and the environment.

The company’s founder, Dr. Gildas Zodomè, developed BIOPHYTO after witnessing first-hand the health and environmental impacts of chemical pesticides used widely in Benin, during his years as agricultural adviser. His research led him to revive traditional knowledge—especially the use of neem and agricultural residues—to create efficient, natural alternatives. By 2013, BIOPHYTO had launched approved products and began scaling these innovations nationwide.

BIO : A Catalytic Partner in Scaling BioPhyto

BIOPHYTO’s growth is the result of long-term, tailored support from Enabel, starting in 2019 when the Belgian structure strengthened the company’s technical and managerial capacities, then facilitated access to blended finance, including microfinance loans, grants, and a major subordinated loan from Kampani. With improved governance and credibility, BIOPHYTO was eventually able to secure large-scale investment, culminating in a €2.75 million financing agreement with BIO in 2026.

The investment aims to:

• Increase BIOPHYTO's production capacity in Benin
• Establish a new production unit in Côte d’Ivoire
• Modernize equipment, logistics, and mechanization
• Integrate solar energy into operations

This financial injection is not merely transactional. It reflects a long-term development partnership grounded in BIO’s mission as Belgium’s development finance institution: to support private-sector solutions that generate sustainable economic and social impact in emerging economies. As BIO notes, such investments create jobs, strengthen value chains, and promote more resilient and equitable food systems.

BIO’s involvement also reinforces BioPhyto’s leadership as Benin’s only producer of certifie biopesticides and organic fertilizers, a status explicitly recognized by BIO.

The new funding opens up a path for BIOPHYTO that goes far beyond its current scope. The company intends to strengthen its presence in West Africa — particularly in Togo, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal — in order to offer both governments and the private sector reliable solutions in organic agricultural inputs. By expanding regionally, BIOPHYTO will be able to increase the scope of its actions and contribute in a more structured way to the evolution of West African agricultural systems towards more sustainable and resilient practices.