2023-05-29 08:04:22
Le minister in charge of agriculture, DIt isnis Ouédraogo, was also part of the Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Two suspended agricultural projects have obtained a reprieve and a new 90 billion project awaiting validation / The latter participated in a high-level panel on food security, “the response to the tripe C crisis (Covid-19, Conflicts”.
L’Economiste du Faso: At the Annual Meetings of the IDB, it is often the occasion for funding announcements, what regarding your department? ?
DIt isnis Ouédraogo, minister in charge of agriculture : I am happy to say that we have had discussions with IDB officials on two of our programs which are having difficulties. In reality, these are old projects. These are projects lasting 5 years but which are 7 years with low completion rates. We have agreed for the PDA Soum, which develops 1,008 ha, to have a three-month extension. The project was to end on May 15, 2023. A three-month extension to complete the facilities, which are 98% complete. We are delighted that the IDB granted our request to save the project.
The second agricultural development project in Liptougou-Pensa, in the east of the country. This project closes, in principle, on December 31, 2023, when it is 57% disbursed. We have obtained the possibility of accentuating the work between now and December 31st. Afterwards, the remainder might be integrated into an emergency project to be submitted. The advantage of the emergency project, its procedure is faster, it does not go through the approval of the Board of Directors. The IDB representative in Abuja to which Burkina Faso reports might carry out the validation.
We also have a big project in the pipeline for almost 90 billion over 5 to 6 years. He was introduced to the Board of Directors last May. Approval is expected in June, if all goes well. This is a dairy farming development project in the peri-urban area of Ouagadougou (towards Tanghin Dassouri) and Loumbila. Synergy between the two centers is expected to provide high-performance breeds and meet consumer demand for natural milk. Our ambition is to produce milk and do like Rwanda, which manages to serve two bowls of milk to school children.
You also participated in the panel on the impact of triple Cs on the economy of IDB member countries, what to remember for Burkina?
We took the opportunity to present the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the food crisis, and the conflicts on our economy. Covid-19 is above all the closing of borders, with the decline in trade activities and the supply of fertilizers.
To this, if we add the effects of climate change and the humanitarian crisis, with the displacement of populations, our economy has suffered in terms of its agricultural production. We presented the government’s response to the panel to deal with these crises, in particular, the introduction and improvement of new agricultural practices, to deal with climate change, the development of lowlands, etc.
The specific question of small producers came up during the exchanges…
Indeed, because they constitute the majority of actors in the agricultural sector. At this level, the government acts through the Agricultural Development Fund and the Agricultural Bank to support these small producers. There are also subsidies that allow producers to have access to quality inputs, in particular fertilizer. On this issue, we hope that with the start of the Kodjoari phosphate project, we will have local production which will allow costs to be lowered by 2024. The current cost per ton is estimated at 600,000 F /t and we project the ton at less than 500,000 FCFA
Still within the framework of the promotion of small producers, a public/private partnership is planned for the development of the Samandeni valley. It is planned that the private investors who will settle there will sell 30% of their development to small producers whose harvests they will buy back, following subtracting their food needs. This project has a dimension of social cohesion with local populations involved and a dimension of profitability.
Several countries presented their experiences, what are the examples that you retain that can inspire Burkina Faso?
There was talk of “The green Saudi Arabia” plan. These are interesting initiatives. It is a country that is more desert than ours, but it manages to produce a lot of food. We have better rainfall than this country and their experience might actually allow us to produce better.
Interview by AT
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