Tomato paste made in Burkina soon on the market

05/03/2025

François-Xavier Branthôme

Burkina Faso,

Africa

According to the local press, “The Bobo-Dioulasso tomato processing plant, inaugurated on November 30, 2024 by the President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, is a powerful symbol of the country's endogenous and community-based development”.

The Société Burkinabè de Tomates (SOBTO) project, launched just 14 months ago, was born of an innovative model: popular shareholding. Burkinabè invested their savings in “a state-of-the-art plant capable of processing 100 tonnes of fresh tomatoes a day into tomato paste under the A'diaa brand”.

The SOBTO processing site covers an area of 5 hectares, and in addition to the 1,200m2 production building, includes areas dedicated to administrative and ancillary services, as well as storage areas. This investment of 11.4 million Euros (7.5 billion FCFA) will provide Burkina Faso with a high-performance processing facility that creates jobs: the plant is expected to create 180 direct, permanent jobs, and 3,000 indirect jobs. The plant is targeting annual sales of 8 billion FCFA over the first five years.