Fight against poverty: Increase of cereal production in vulnerable rural households

The overall objective of this project was to contribute to the reduction of food insecurity in rural areas of Burkina Faso, specifically by increasing the cereal production in rural households in Komki-Ipala.

The project was implemented by HOPE’87 in the rural community in cooperation with its local partner organisation “Groupement Villageois Féminin des Productrices Wend Sôngda” – a proactive grouping of local women whose organizational structures were strengthened as part of this project. The target group of the project were thus both agricultural households as well as the members of “Wend Sôngda”. Moreover, this project also reached out specifically to elderly people, people with special needs and children aged from 0 to 5. Altogether, this project targeted 3,402 people in 18 villages of Komki-Ipala.

The project generated valuable experience concerning the choice of more drought-resistant seeds and the implementation of agricultural cultivation methods that are better adapted to the climatic challenges. Furthermore, the fertility of the areas under cultivation was increased through the production and use of organic fertilizers. Optimized seeds were distributed to increase production and the project included capacity building and training to improve the people’s knowledge on climate change and more productive cultivation methods.

Project Background: 

The Région du Centre is one of the areas of Burkina Faso with the lowest agricultural productivity. However, the majority of the population is dependent on grain and vegetable cultivation. The low agricultural productivity is mainly caused by the nutrient-poor soils, reduced availability of high-quality seeds and the insufficient knowledge of the farmers on how to adapt to changing climatic conditions which increasingly threaten the livelihoods of the local population.