Burkina Faso gets €38 million from AfDB for food security

The African Development Bank has provided €38.4 million to help Bukina Faso strengthen its agriculture production and improve food security in the West African Country.

Under African Emergency Food Production Facility run by the pan-African bank, the funds will support Burkina Faso’s in implementing the Emergency Project for Increasing Agricultural Production in Burkina Faso (PURPA-BF) which was launched earlier this week.

The facility will help supply nearly 9,000 tons of certified climate adapted seeds to 330,000 farmers to help increase production of maize, rice, soya, cowpea, sorghum and wheat.

“This unwavering commitment by the Bank symbolises the exemplary nature of the strong collaboration between it and our country in several sectors. In the areas of agriculture, animal resources and fisheries, for which I am responsible, the Bank’s commitment has consistently resulted in the implementation of development projects and programmes,” said agriculture minister Major Ismaël Sombié.

At least half of benefiting farmers who are women, internally displaced individuals and youth will also receive 36,000 tons of fertiliser. The project is primarily targeting the country’s major irrigated plains around Bagrépôle, Bama, Banzon and Karfiguéla.

Implementation is expected to boost national rice production by 430,000 tons and maize production by 707,000 tons. Other crops will also see production increases.

“It should be noted that the Bank’s public financing portfolio in Burkina Faso is mainly focused on the agriculture and environment sector, which accounts for 34 per cent of the Bank’s total funding within the country, with commitments of more than 110 billion CFA francs (€167 million,” added Daniel Ndoye, the AfDB Country Manager.

The project will complement the government’s ‘2023-25 Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive’ programme launched last year. It also aligns with the Interim Country Strategy Paper 2022-2025 for Burkina Faso, which prioritizes support for agricultural value chains, as well as the Bank’s ‘Feed Africa’ strategy.

AfDB is one of Burkina Faso’s leading partners, with current commitments of over €701 million. According to Mr Ndoye, the Bank intends to maintain its support for and solidarity with the government and its people in their development efforts, with a particular focus on improving living conditions, food security and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in areas with high socio-economic potential.