François Petit, Director General, Bionexx
For those who don’t know Bionexx, can you tell us a little about your company?
Bionexx is a company that sources and manufactures botanical ingredients and extracts in Madagascar, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
We work closely with 40,000 smallholders across the island, each of whom is registered in our system. This allows for traceability of our ingredients, from the individual farmer to its final destination.
Our production facility, located in the highlands of Madagascar, processes up to 6,000 MT of plant materials annually. From here, we supply the plant materials and botanical extracts to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food supplement industry worldwide.
As one of the largest smallholder farmer networks in Madagascar, we are committed to building lasting, loyal partnerships. We formalise our collaborations to provide farmers with a secure income. We also encourage them to grow new botanical ingredients, supporting them with revenues year-round.
Your company joined UEBT in 2021. What made you choose to engage with UEBT and what are some of the highlights you achieved or are hoping to achieve in the coming years with UEBT support?
We joined UEBT for several key reasons. In 2021, as we became one of the largest players in sourcing Centella leaves in Madagascar, we were looking to differentiate ourselves in the market while improving the livelihoods of our partner farmers. UEBT gave us exactly that: a meaningful way to stand out and access clients who share our commitment to responsible sourcing.
So far, our membership has been extremely valuable in improving the traceability of our Centella value chain. The UEBT team’s external perspective showed us key areas where we could improve. For example, by looking at the average daily collected volume to understand our farmers better. We also felt confident raising the prices for our picker network, thanks to the support of a client also engaged with the UEBT standard.
Looking ahead, we’re focused on achieving our goals of significantly reducing the risks of child work and identifying and eliminating farmers who act as middlemen and underpay farmers outside the Bionexx network. While these objectives may seem evident and straightforward, our experience is that they’re challenging to achieve in practice. Additionally, we aim to connect with more customers who support the UEBT standard, building long-term partnerships that enable us to make a real and lasting impact on the ground.
Currently, Bionexx works with a vast network of over 20,000 producers, 10,000 gatherers and dozens of collection centers. How do you build strong and lasting relationships with such a large network?
Just like in any relationship, building trust is crucial. We do so by offering agreements that ensure farmers’ income is secure and we communicate openly and honestly. We’re transparent about the prices we offer and the quality we expect. To help them meet our standards, we provide training through instructional videos, radio broadcasts, and hands-on support from our field team of over 100 experts. Over the past few years, we’ve also introduced a variety of new botanical ingredients to our existing network, strengthening our relationship with them.
Is Bionexx involved in social initiatives to contribute to the well- being and livelihoods of these persons?
Currently, our main focus is to diversify and increase the income of our network by introducing more botanical ingredients to the same group of farmers and selling a larger part of our volume with conformance to the UEBT standard. Our experience is that higher revenues for our farmers directly impact their quality of life, enabling them to afford better food, enroll their children in school, and access basic health services.
Tree nursery
We also run a tree nursery and distribute over one million trees annually to our network of farmers. We provide a combination of fruit trees and trees for firewood, which helps with their nutrition, generates additional income, and provides a sustainable energy source for cooking. Given the severe deforestation issues in Madagascar, prioritising reforestation was a clear choice for us.
We’re currently launching a pilot project with 1,000 farmers to provide their families with access to basic health services and to promote school enrollment through school meal programs.
Bionexx nursery
On your website you state that: Bionexx closely collaborates with local communities to ensure fair compensation and promote environmental protection. What does it look like in practice?
As mentioned, we distribute over one million trees each year to combat deforestation, a critical issue in Madagascar. We also carry out regular environmental impact studies in our production areas to evaluate the effects of our activities and make necessary adjustments. Additionally, we are committed to converting all our value chains to organic by 2030.
Regarding fair compensation, we are deeply committed to this goal. However, we need to be honest that operating in a competitive market means our clients aren’t always able or willing to pay more. Achieving more equitable pay for all our farmers will need to be a collaborative effort with our customers.
For more information : Check www.bionexx.com
François Petit, Director General, Bionexx
