Bio-Safe Bio Fertilizer Manufacturing (BBM), a privately owned enterprise established in 2019 in Addis Ababa, is one of only two producers of rhizobium inoculant in Ethiopia. BBM aims to become the leading bio-fertilizer producer in the country, providing inoculants to all grain legume-producing farmers. The company produces and distributes bio-fertilizers for major legume crops in Ethiopia, including faba bean, field pea, chickpea, lentil, haricot bean, and soybean. BBM has an annual production capacity of over 100,000 packets, enough to inoculate 25,000 hectares (1 packet covers 0.25 hectares), with potential for increased capacity as the market grows.

Out of 31 BBM employees, 22 are women. Among the total, 24 employees (including 20 women) work for six months each year. The production section of BBM is led by a skilled microbiologist, supported by a team of three BSc holders and three certified staff members. Between 2021 and 2024, BBM sold a total of 353,689 sachets of rhizobium inoculant in the Amhara, Oromia, and Southern regions for various pulse crops. However, sales of soybean inoculant only account for about 3% of total sales, with a decreasing trend observed in 2023-2024 due to low awareness in key soybean production areas, exacerbated by remoteness and security issues, especially in the Amhara region.

Contact: Mr Tamirat Cherenet Haile (photo below) Email

Demonstrating the Benefits of Rhizobium Inoculant to Soybean Producers through the Expansion of Business Partnership and Digitising the Operating System

This project demonstrated the benefits of combining inoculants with improved soybean seeds by piloting a distribution model through contract farming arrangements with CASA project partners, which other processors can replicate in their business models through evidence and learning dissemination.

Prior to the CASA partnership, BBM had limited skills and capacity to assess rhizobium inoculant demand and manage its distribution chain. BBM also had no clear marketing strategy and had limited communication with key public stakeholders (such as agriculture and cooperative promotion offices) to promote its products. This was against a background of limited awareness among smallholder farmers, and at all stakeholder levels, about the benefits and use of rhizobium inoculant. Therefore, the objective of this CASA partnership with BBM was to address promotion and distribution challenges for rhizobium inoculant through the provision of tailored technical assistance and financial support.

CASA linked BBM to agro-processors to ensure a supply of inoculants to smallholders via contract farming arrangements with cooperatives. It also facilitated links between BBM and seed companies to encourage the combined supply of rhizobium and seed through various market channels as a standard practice. BBM built awareness and provided technical support on the use and benefits of rhizobium inoculant to processors, seed enterprises, agro-dealers, rural youth agents, and agriculture office extension agents, to the point where they automatically offer the rhizobium as a natural accompaniment at the time of seed purchase.

Running from October 2024 – December 2025, this initiative helped the company expand its product distribution in high legume production areas, including Oromia and other regions. BBM supplied inoculant to over 2,500 farmers in the Oromia region through this pilot project, in collaboration with three edible oil and oil cake meal processors (KUNAP, LEOS, SITCO) and one cooperative union (LIMFCU). These processors targeted four soybean-producing woredas in the Jimma zone (Nedhi Gibe, Omonada, Seka Chokorsa, and Sokoru) and five woredas in the Buno Bedelle zone (Bedelle, Chewaka, Dabo Hana, Dhidhessa, and Gechi) for piloting a new soybean inoculant supply model. Smallholders are producing and supplying extra soybeans to the processors due to the increment of soybean production because of the application of inoculant to quality seeds.

Of a total project cost of £103,914, CASA contributed £65,714 (63%) through technical assistance and a grant. CASA provided technical support to digitalise the process of assessing smallholder demand for inoculant (BBM was using paper-based systems prior) and better manage its distribution. To stimulate demand, in conjunction with the processors already mentioned, 20 demo plots were established in Jimma zone in five woredas and in ten rural kebles. BBM also identified ten agro-dealers and ten young rural sales agents, who were engaged in inoculant distribution in Jimma and Buno Bedelle zones in consultation with local stakeholders, and produced and distributed T-shirts and flyers as communication and promotional materials. CASA also supported in the development of a website http://biosafe.et

The project delivered several environmental protection benefits due to the promotion and distribution of rhizobium inoculant to smallholder farmers that improved their yields. Additionally, the promotion of rhizobium reduced the perceived need among farmers for chemical fertilisers and improved the soil health and crop productivity in sustainable organic farming. Rhizobia also possess the biochemical and ecological capacity to degrade organic pollutants, making them useful for rehabilitating contaminated soils, particularly relevant to SITCO’s organic farming partnership. In terms of a business investment opportunity, the use of rhizobium inoculant on naïve soils results in higher yields by fixing nitrogen, improving soil health and fertility, increasing crop yields by up to 35% per hectare, and enhancing quality. Ultimately, this leads to economic benefits and reduced environmental impact. 

As one of only two producers of rhizobium inoculant in Ethiopia, the company should closely work with seed enterprises (such as Amhara Seed Enterprise, Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation, and Oromia Seed Enterprise), as well as farmers’ cooperatives and agricultural extension agents, to effectively coordinate the distribution of seeds along with inoculant. BBM should also expand the business partnership with more agro-dealers and rural young people to service more soybean farmers in various regions (such as Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, and Oromia). It will help to sustain business collaboration and synergy with the CASA-supported agro-processing companies (KUNAP, LEOS, SITCO) and develop new partnerships with similar large-scale companies operating in Amhara and Oromia regions (such as Gut Agro Industry, Hamersesa Edible Oil, RichLand, and UNSION) to increase inoculant sales. It will be essential to sustain the digital systems to enhance efficiency gains, upscale and tailor various service packages through evidence and quality information generated from the system, and further to scale-up promotional activities such as setting up more demo plots in new geographies to disseminate the benefits and applications of inoculant uptake.

Updated: March 2026