Programme description

Title: Agricultural Development Programme
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Burkina Faso
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries
Overall term: 2004 to 2016

Context

Agriculture and the downstream branches of the economy offer the greatest development potential for the economy of Burkina Faso. Growth here benefits the poor sections of the population, 80 percent of whom earn their living from agriculture. The country has few alternatives to agriculture, since it has practically no raw materials nor any real industry. In the short term, it will be impossible to build up a services sector. Cotton is currently the only significant cash crop which allows farmers to generate an income above subsistence level. It developed strongly after 1994, but has been suffering an unprecedented crisis since the cropping season 2004/2005.
If the country is to make use of existing alternatives, producers, especially smallholders, must be better integrated into the market. They will also need support to help them ensure their own nutrition basis and to shorten the periods of food shortages.

Objective

New jobs have been created in two selected regions in the southwest and the east of Burkina Faso. Smallholders are generating a higher income and can feed themselves more satisfactorily on a sustainable basis. Natural resources, in particular soil fertility, will be preserved.

Approach

The Agricultural Development Programme supports the local partners in promoting the transition to market-oriented agriculture and thus facilitating all-round economic growth. The focus is on the promotion of alternative production with guaranteed national and international sales and on further processing. Because of foot-dragging on land reform, women have practically no other opportunities to take up productive employment.

To boost production and ensure erosion control, value chains will be jointly promoted. All links in the chain will be taken into account: the provision of the means of production, advisory services, appropriate credit systems, certification and quality standards, food processing and national, regional and international marketing.

Various criteria determine the selection of value chains eligible for promotion.

• Economic: existing markets and partners from the private sector, number of agricultural and non-agricultural beneficiaries
• Social: Percentage of the poor population, women, food security, access to markets with social standards
• Ecological: Organic labels, impacts on soil fertility, etc.

One precondition for promoting value chains is the consistent involvement of the private sector. This is still something of a novelty in Burkina Faso. Both state actors and a large percentage of civil society see the private sector as a competitor rather than a solution. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that only a few small and medium-sized enterprises are active in the formal sector.

In order to develop and foster private-sector initiatives, it is essential to invest in individuals and organisations, but also in institutions and policies. The development of individuals and organisations alone is not enough if the framework is not appropriate, and vice versa. The extension of market institutions, an improved legal and administrative framework, development-oriented state action and the promotion of cooperation between the state, the private sector and civil society are prerequisites for any genuine private-sector investment. This in turn is indispensable for sustainable growth and poverty reduction.

Further information

• Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Hydraulique et des Ressources Halieutiques
  Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries
  www.agriculture.gov.bf
• Ministère des Ressources Animales
  Ministry of Animal Resources
  www.mra.gov.bf
• Ministère de l’Environnement et du Cadre de Vie
  Ministry of the Environment and Social Affairs
  www.mra.gov.bf
• Office National du Commerce Extérieur
  National Foreign Trade Bureau
  www.tradepoint.bf
• Secrétariat Permanent de Coordination des Politiques Sectorielles Agricoles
  Permanent Secretariat of Agriculture Sector Policies
  www.spcpsa.gov.bf
• Global Donor Platform for Rural Development
  www.donorplatform.org