Sustainable food systems in Burkina Faso

Financial partners

Context

At a time when international negotiations to combat climate change are struggling to reach a conclusion, the consequences are already being felt in Burkina Faso. This landlocked country is subject to recurrent droughts, mainly caused by climate change.

This emblematic Sahelian country nevertheless has long experience of water management and agro-ecology, having had to use its resources sparingly and creatively for many years.

As in our other countries of operation, our actions aim to reconcile the objectives of nature conservation and natural resource management with those of rural development for the communities concerned. The protection of Protected Areas (PAs) is closely linked to the well-being of the communities living in the surrounding area, as well as to the development of income-generating activities.

The current context of insecurity has plunged the country into a serious crisis, the outcome of which remains uncertain, but which only serves to reinforce the needs of the population, particularly young people and women. The existence of the projects is therefore crucial, and despite the delicate working context, our colleagues in the field and partners are doing their utmost to achieve our objectives.

Location

In Burkina Faso, ULB-Coopération’s projects focus on Corridor n°1 of the Pô-Nazinga-Sissili protected area complex (CAP/PONASI) located in the Centre-Sud region. The CAP/PONASI is the second largest continuum of protected nature reserves in Burkina Faso.

Goals

Local people, particularly young people and women living on the outskirts of Corridor 1 of the PONASI protected area complex, are improving their income from the sustainable exploitation of natural resources and their living conditions in the long term, by helping to preserve and restore their environment.

Activities

The programme focuses on three areas: the development of agricultural sectors, environmental conservation and restoration, and inclusive knowledge management.

Developing agricultural sectors

To support the creation of income-generating activities, we support the development of agricultural sectors:

Support for agroecological, beekeeping and agroforestry production techniques
Support for the extraction and processing of beekeeping and market garden products
Strengthening beekeepers’ and producers’ associations
Establishing fair trade relations and contract farming, particularly for oilseeds
Launching innovation competitions to support the creation of micro and small businesses by young people and women

Environnement

The environmental axis focuses on the conservation and restoration of the biodiversity and natural resources of the PAs and agro-ecosystems:

Support for the process of classifying Corridor No. 1 and setting up a participatory development and management plan
Support for the integration of agroforestry into agroecosystems
Technical support on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Inclusive knowledge management

As a university NGO, a major part of our activities concerns the production and management of knowledge:

Carrying out diagnoses, studies and research, through dissertations, doctorates and internal studies
Support for the Development Research Project (PRD) financed by ARES and coordinated by Prof. de Cannière of the ULB agroecology lab on the following themes:

– A spatiotemporal analysis of the evolution of the PONASI landscapes in demographic, socio-economic, political and ecological terms, leading to simulations of the future of these landscapes.

– Establishing an agrarian diagnosis of the agricultural territories on the periphery of the protected areas, making it possible to propose and test agro-ecological intensification.

– The development of agro-ecological infrastructures and itineraries favorable to bees, in order to ensure the sustainable management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs): honey and shea butter.

Watch the Research for Developement program video : here