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In Morocco, BDA Horizons combines the BDA method with a biodiversity-water-climate Nexus approach developed under the Roots Across the Wall initiative: value chains for aromatic and medicinal plants and local products (argan, prickly pear, dates), water management (khettaras, solar pumping), farm schools and nurseries, agroforestry and soil restoration with a goal of carbon certification under recognised standards, and the promotion of traditional knowledge. This approach is aligned with Generation Green 2020–2030, the National Biodiversity Strategy, the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Nagoya Protocol.
A seven-component business ecosystem
In conventional supply chains, smallholders sell raw materials to a chain of intermediaries who capture almost all the value. The BDA model reverses this logic: producers become trained entrepreneurs, organised into cooperatives or companies, who sell quality-controlled ingredients directly to regulated markets. Each of the seven components removes one barrier:
- training (the Plante Action programme)
- access to land (BDA Speck)
- start-up finance (ESTF)
- local processing (the BDA packaging centre)
- quality control
- marketing (the BDA Label)
- buying and selling (BASS, the Botanical Alliance for Sustainable Supply)
These tools are owned by BDA Global; BDA Horizons deploys them in Morocco under its framework agreement, with each programme covered by a specific agreement.
The eco-entrepreneur pathway
Five steps, from training and certification to direct market access.
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01
Train and certify
Young people, women and cooperatives follow the Plante Action programme: one year of selection, training, certification and mentoring, built on three pillars. Quality: good agricultural and collection practices (GACP), HACCP and laboratory practices. Entrepreneurship: management, marketing, logistics, export and business plans. Sustainable development: access and benefit-sharing (Nagoya Protocol), organic agriculture and sustainable harvesting. Certification opens access to the network's statuses: BDA Certified Ecopreneur, BDA Approved Operator and BDA Licensee.
02
Get organised
Ecopreneurs set up their formal structure: a cooperative or a limited company. BDA Speck enables them to become co-owners of land through a joint venture with a landowner, and a dedicated seed fund (ESTF) finances the launch of eco-enterprises.
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Produce and process
Cultivation, harvesting and processing meet international standards. The BDA packaging centre provides on-site processing and quality control at cost, so the added value stays with the producers.
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Certify and trace
The BDA Label guarantees quality and fairness along the whole chain, and the network's digital agricultural platform ensures product traceability.
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Access markets and finance
BASS connects certified ecopreneurs with buyers in the food, cosmetics, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors. The value they capture makes the enterprises investable for impact investors. The result is a triple bottom line: economic, social and environmental.