Emergency program ran February to May to help mitigate the harshness of rising food prices
The program distributed 3,500 tons of improved millet, sorghum, maize, beans, and rice seeds to 140,000 households in 302 rural communities
July 2,2008 —Burkina Faso is a landlocked West African country of 13 million inhabitants with one of the lowest GDPs per capita in the world.
The rise of international commodity prices affected Burkina, breeding discontent and causing riots against what is nicknamed as ‘la vie chere’ (expensive life) in some major cities during February–April this year.
In 2007, other shocks had hit the country, decreasing incomes and posing serious food security risks. They included a short rainy season resulting in low agricultural production, but also severe floods of more 40,000 hectares in 20 provinces, which brought further agricultural losses and put more than 100,000 people, especially children, at nutritional and health risk.
Farmers are happy to receive the improved seeds in time to sow before the first rains
The World Bank has worked quickly with the Government to evaluate the size and impact of the shocks and help the country get through the crisis without reversing recent development trends. From February to May, an emergency program was put in place to help mitigate immediately the harshness of the shocks, especially on the most vulnerable.
The program aims to ensure that children stay in school, the health of vulnerable populations does not deteriorate further, and that poor villagers stand a chance to produce food and feed their families.
3,500 Tons of Seeds Distributed
To launch the 2008 agricultural campaign, the emergency program helped distribute 3,500 tons of improved millet, sorghum, maize, beans, and rice seeds to 140,000 households in 302 rural communities in the country. This support, at a total cost of $5 million, was realized through the restructuring of the Community-Based Rural Development Project (PNGT2).
Ishac Diwan, country director for Burkina Faso, seized the opportunity of his recent visit in late May, at the beginning of the planting season, to participate in the distribution of seeds to poor producers in the two rural communities of Tanghin-Dassouri and Konki Ipala. Each received 11.5 tons of improved seeds. The targeting of households was done by the village councils, taking into account the level of poverty and the impact of flooding.
During the visit, Etienne Kaboré, a director-general at the Agriculture ministry, explained to the farmers how to get maximum yields from the improved seeds. In particular, he urged households to start planting very soon, in order to take advantage the rains.
Targeted Assistance
At the same time, by providing additional financing for three existing projects, the Bank extended support for targeted assistance in other areas:
A scale-up of school feeding programs ($5 million) will cover an additional 200,000 poor children for two years in 15 provinces;
3.5 million meningitis vaccines were purchased ($5 million) and immunization completed in February–March 2008, containing the meningitis outbreak which hit 7 provinces of Burkina Faso earlier in the year;
In the coming months more than 3 million children and pregnant women suffering from severe cases of malnutrition will receive micronutrients such as plumpy’nut, vitamin A, and other supplements within the scaled up nutrition support program ($10 million)
Over the medium- to long-term, Burkina can benefit from the higher food prices by increasing and diversifying its agricultural production. The Bank and the Government are already working to improve the production and post-harvest management of cotton, in addition to the provision of improved cotton seeds and financial assistance to the cotton farmers.
Efforts to diversify agriculture, including by IFC and private sector participation, are being pursued. Finally, a new project supporting a longer term Government strategy for food security is being prepared for launch during the next fiscal year.
Irrigation brings fresh greens to the markets of Ouagadougou and increased incomes for farmers
This effort by the Government, with support from the Bank, to distribute seeds to poor farmers, was highly appreciated by the beneficiaries. Further discussions with the Government are taking place for additional financing to purchase more seeds for the people and to support the rice production in the dry season which starts in October 2008.
Galina Sotirova, the new Bank country manager in Ouagadougou, said to the farmers, “Like the government and people of Burkina Faso, the Bank is playing its role in a joint effort to ensure that agricultural output will rise sharply this year, and that all farmers will be able to compensate for the losses they sustained last season."
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