Benin: 1600 ha of mangoes and citrus trees projected for the 2025 fruit tree campaign
Benin has kicked off the fifth edition of its national fruit tree planting campaign. The 2025 edition plans to plant over 1,600 hectares of mangoes and citrus fruits across the country.
@: Kafunel.com
The ceremony was held on a specially prepared agricultural estate in Siraru. For this occasion, three hectares were prepared: two for mangoes and one for citrus fruits. The event was presided over by Innocent Togla, the assistant director of the Minister of Agriculture’s office, along with several local authorities, including the mayor of N’Dali, Daouda Saka Mere. The campaign aims to plant 700 hectares of mangoes and 950 hectares of citrus fruits by 2025.
Since its launch in 2019, the national campaign has been steadily growing. By the end of 2024, Benin had already recorded 2,318 hectares of mangoes and nearly 11,967 hectares of citrus fruits, thanks in particular to the support from the Agricultural Development Pole 5.
In his speech, Innocent Togla emphasized the economic importance of this initiative. “The mango is an emerging sector. It complements cotton, pineapple, and cashew in our export diversification strategy”.
He also highlighted the need to locally process citrus fruits to produce juices, concentrates, and cocktails with high added value, which are competitive on international markets.
Mayor Daouda Saka Mere reaffirmed his commune’s commitment, which has already planted 100 hectares of mango trees between 2020 and 2024, with the support of the authorities. The attending producers praised the provided efforts: hoeing, staking, hole making technical aids which, according to them, show real support and restore confidence in the agricultural world.