Burkina Faso: Under the presidency of Ibrahim Traoré – Towards a food self-sufficient Burkina Faso thanks to the Agropastoral and Fisheries Initiative 2023-2025

Burkina Faso is moving towards food self-sufficiency under the vision of President Ibrahim Traoré, who has launched the Presidential Initiative «Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive 2023-2025». The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries, Commandant Ismaël SOMBIE, undertook a tour of the agricultural areas of the Centre-East to assess the progress of this ambitious initiative.

The minister’s visit focused on several key sites, highlighting the efforts being made to achieve food self-sufficiency. In the irrigated lowlands of Bagrépôle, a total of 76 hectares of developed land has been made available to the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP). The land will be used to grow maize, sorghum and cowpeas during the current agricultural season. The commitment of those in charge of supervising the FDS and VDP guarantees the success of these operations, with the assurance of the availability of inputs.

At Bagrépôle, the Presidential Initiative is not limited to the land allocated to the FDS and VDP. An impressive 1.700 hectares have been cultivated to produce a variety of crops, including maize, cowpeas, sesame, beans and sorghum. According to producers on the Bagré plain, harvests look set to be excellent, and this success only reinforces the government’s commitment to increasing agro-pastoral production in Burkina Faso.

The Presidential Initiative «Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive 2023-2025» demonstrates President Ibrahim Traoré’s firm commitment to a food self-sufficient Burkina Faso. Through concrete actions, judicious use of agricultural land and sustained attention to agricultural inputs, the country is on the road to food security, contributing to the prosperity and well-being of its citizens.

K.Koné