Since 2023, the African Centre for Equitable Development (ACED), with technical support from GRET and CIRAD, has been supporting the implementation and development of a Geographical Indication (GI) for a fromage frais (a type of cheese similar to cream cheese) made using milk from local cow races, typical in the north of Benin: Gassirè Wagashi. In April 2025, a decisive stage began with the setting up of the Association for the Defence of the Gassirè Wagashi cheese geographical indication (ADIGGAWA).
Prior to this, the three organisations jointly conducted various actions to facilitate the gradual emergence of the GI: analysis of the milk value chain in Benin, activities to raise value chain stakeholders’ awareness on the concept of GIs, market research and prospecting, and successive inter-professional consultations to develop the organisational system, economic model, precise delineation of the geographical area covered by the GI, and drawing up of specifications and control plan. Work also started with actors from the world of research in Benin to improve stabilisation and conservation of the cheese, as well as its commercialisation.
Setting up of an organisation to defend and manage the GI
The creation of a defence and management organisation is a key element in the success of GIs. Such organisations make it possible to bring together stakeholders in the value chain, individually or in organised groups, who have pooled their efforts to develop a high-quality end product.
In the case of Gassirè Wagashi cheese, the Association for the Defence of the Gassirè Wagashi geographical indication (ADIGGAWA), which was set up on 5 April 2025 in Parakou, is an inter-professional organisation. It brings together key economic operators such as dairy farmers and cheese processors, working in the geographical area covered by the GI. These men and women are “ex officio” members: they comply with specifications, produce and market products under the GI, and have the right to vote within the organisation. The organisation also includes “associate” members, who do not have the right to vote but provide technical and political support: research institutions or researchers, NGOs, umbrella organisations in the livestock farming sector. The Management Board is made up of seven elected members, six of whom are women.
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The ADDIGGAWA is in charge of defending and promoting Gassirè Wagashi cheese. It must ensure and protect the quality of the product, and its link with its territory of origin. But it must also generate innovation, collective organisation and expansion into new markets.
Working towards registration and protection of the Gassirè Wagashi cheese GI
The next stage is registration of the GI for the protection and valorisation of Gassirè Wagashi cheese. The procedure involves two stages: firstly with the Beninese State (National GI Committee), then with the African Intellectual Property Organisation (AIPO). The AIPO is an intergovernmental body with seventeen African Member States, including Benin. It is in charge of uniformly protecting intellectual property rights in these States’ territories.
The ADIGGAWA must now finalise its official registration as an organisation under the 1901 Law and prepare its application for registration of the GI. This application includes the specifications, the detailed control plan with a description of the system for controlling the GI, and a note supporting its application. After registration of the GI, it will have numerous strategic missions: finalise its economic model, inform and register its members, ensure that members’ practices comply with the specifications (control), promote the GI, monitor the market and the use of the GI name, take legal measures (file a complaint) if counterfeit products are discovered… The project’s next activities will be to boost capacities and support the newly-formed ADIGGAWA to meet the remaining challenges.
Learn more: Promoting and protecting Wagashi Gassirè cheese in Benin | Gret
The project for the “Implementation and development of the Gassirè Wagashi cheese in Benin” is conducted by ACED, in collaboration with GRET and CIRAD. This initiative, funded by AFD, is part of the GI Facility led by CIRAD. With a duration of 40 months (January 2023 – April 2026), the project also benefits from the support and advice of AIPO.
