Each year African countries are invited to exhibit at the Paris International Agricultural Show, with Morocco taking centre stage at the 2025 edition as guest of honour. Among the African producers manning stands this year is Diongoma, a company behind one of Senegal's flagship products: shea butter.
Shea butter is widely used in the cosmetics industry, as well as by chocolatiers as a substitute for cocoa butter.
Diongoma was founded by Mariama Sylla in 2007. Located in Salemata, in the southeast of the country, its product has been certified "organic" by the Ecocert organisation since 2016.
This certification was hard-won, as according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the marketing of organic products in Senegal faces a number of constraints, including the high cost of certification processes.
From harvest to production, Sylla currently works with 3,000 women. She has enabled more favourable valuation of shea, which is a source of income for up to a third of households in Senegal.
RFI went to the Paris Agricultural Show to meet Diongoma to find out more.
