PROVA, a vanilla extract provider, is actively promoting a more responsible and ethical supply chain in Madagascar.

With the goal of supporting local communities, its Sustainable Vanilla Program, focused in the Sava region of Madagascar, offers customers a range of organic extracts with a customized approach. For more than 77 years, PROVA’s story has revolved around supporting people and vanilla. 

Its CSR program, Care&Act, is the result of this commitment to excellent taste while maintaining a positive impact at the source of its raw materials, Madagascar. PROVA aspires to build and promote a sustainable industry within its range of sweet brown extracts and flavors.

"In 2013, we decided to get involved in the fields of Madagascar to be as close as possible to the farmers’ associations through our NGO, Sustainable Vanilla Bemanevika, which works in the areas of education, health, nutrition, and the conservation of biodiversity. It was this initial experience that prompted us to extend our involvement to other associations partnering with committed exporters, an initiative that reflects our global Care&Act sustainability philosophy," explained Muriel Acat, CEO (pictured).

Driven by an ambition to go even further, the company started a new initiative to accompany its vanilla offering. By virtue of PROVA's extraction expertise, its ties to the farmers, and knowledge of local issues, the company partners with Promabio, a committed group in the Sava region, to deploy its Sustainable Vanilla program. This program is designed around five bold objectives, measured by +50 indicators to ensure the quality and traceability of all its actions: agriculture, environment, lifestyle, education, and health. PROVA continues to sustain and improve the skills of +264 already-trained farmers working 200 acres of cultivation. Other results include preserving the environment by planting +4,500 seeds to repair deforestation thereby raising awareness among Malagasy vanilla farmers about the risks of deforestation.

PROVA continues to invest in quality-of-life initiatives supporting over 10,000 Malagasy people, ranging from access to drinking water, healthcare, and education, and efforts to promote better nutrition for children, the company stated.