Burkina Faso and the African Development Bank launched the Burkina Faso component of Project 2 of the Food and Nutrition Insecurity Resilience Programme in the Sahel (P2-P2RS) and the Integrated Maize, Soybean, Poultry and Fish Chain Development and Resilience Building Project (PIMSAR) simultaneously in Ouagadougou on 21 May 2024.
The ceremony was chaired by Amadou Dicko, Burkina's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fish Resources with responsibility for Livestock Resources, in the presence of Daniel Ndoye, head of the African Development Bank's Country Office in Burkina, Ms Mamounata Kiemtoré, representing the Centre region's governor, and Ali Badara Traoré, General Secretary of the National Chamber of Agriculture.
Mr Ndoye indicated that the Bank's support for the two projects was driven by their alignment with national priorities and with the Bank's strategy, especially "Feed Africa", "Integrate Africa" and "Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa". Support for agricultural value chains, he reminded participants, a key area of the Bank's strategy for Burkina in 2022-2025.
"The support provided to these two projects is evidence of the Bank's willingness to strengthen its interventions in the agro-pastoral sector in Burkina Faso, particularly when the country is resolutely committed to implementing the Agropastoral and Fisheries Initiative 2023-2025," he commented.
Minister Dicko paid a warm tribute to the African Development Bank on behalf of the government of Burkina Faso, saying, "Since Burkina Faso joined the Bank Group, it has redoubled its efforts to provide effective support to the government's development initiatives. The Bank's commitment in the agricultural sector can be seen in the implementation of many projects and development programmes, including P2-P2RS and PIMSAR, which are both means of putting the Stabilization and Development Action Plan into practice."
On behalf of the National Chamber of Agriculture, Aliou Badara Traoré expressed delight at the launch of two projects that would bring hope to producers. "We would like to reiterate our gratitude and appreciation for the commitment shown by the Bank on a daily basis to improve the living conditions of rural populations," he commented.
The Burkina Faso component of P2-P2RS, implemented over 2023-2024, builds on the lessons learned in the first phase of the project, from 2016-2022, which produced considerable infrastructure (dams, irrigated public land, etc.) that play an important role in improving people's resilience. The second phase, with EUR 54 million from the African Development Bank Group, will be implemented in 33 communities in 6 of the country's 13 regions and reach 125,000 beneficiaries, at least 50 percent of whom are women and most of whom are heads of household.
The PIMSAR aims to reach 30,000 direct beneficiaries, including at least 50 percent women, in the Boucle du Mouhoun, Centre, Centre-West and Hauts-Bassins regions. It targets internally displaced persons by reconstituting their productive capital in their places of origin or recapitalizing them in their host communities. The project will receive EUR 42 million from the Bank.
The agriculture and environment sector currently represents 34 percent of the African Development Bank's total funding in Burkina Faso, or EUR 225 million. With current commitments of EUR 700 million, the African Development Bank Group is one of Burkina Faso's top technical and financial partners.
