2023-12-12 08:03:55
• Local know-how to discover in 200 stands
• The challenge of consuming local in a context of resilience working
LFor almost a week, Ouagadougou has been the agri-food capital of Burkina and elsewhere. It is in fact on the site of the Ouagadougou International Crafts Fair (SIA0) that the 12e edition of the Agri-Food Days (JAAL). This event is organized by the Federation of Agro-Food Industries of Burkina (FIAB). Its opening was marked by a ceremony whose splendor was enhanced by the presence of several personalities, including the Grand Chancellor of the Burkinabè Orders, General Pingrenoma Zagré, representing the head of government.
“Certification-labeling and intellectual property combination: what innovation policy for agri-food SMEs/SMIs in the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF)”, it is under this general theme that this 12e editing. For the organizers of the event, the objective, through this theme, is to “create collective awareness and a patriotic commitment among all Burkinabè to consume it locally”.
The JAAL 2023, this showcase for promoting national products, consists of five days of exhibitions and sales with around 200 stands and professional shows. Exhibitors came from different regions of Burkina but also from other countries, notably Mali, Chad, Germany and Japan. At the stands, visitors and buyers are spoiled for choice between a diversity of agri-food products and related services. An ideal setting, according to the organizers, to discover innovations in the field of agri-food but also to meet numerous national, sub-regional and international clients.
But it is not only the exhibitions and sales on the JAAL program which are above all a moment of reflection on the development of the agri-food sector. Because, more than ever, this sector must face multiple challenges. It was the Executive Secretary of the FIAB, Modeste Ouédraogo, who said it in these terms: “This edition is being held in a difficult socio-economic context marked by the security and humanitarian crisis which has had disruptive effects in the areas of agro-sylvo-pastoral, fisheries and wildlife production, but also in those of processing and especially in terms of marketing”. And to add that this sector “faces constraints including: the disarticulation of supply systems; difficulties in accessing credit due to market risks and price fluctuations; the weak attraction of international buyers and investors”. Thus, it is a question, through reflections, of finding answers to concerns linked, in particular, to the supply of the population with national products; the intensification and sustainable increase of agricultural production; the optimization of agri-food processing processes to create added value to agricultural raw materials while limiting the depletion of natural resources (water, land and biodiversity).
Apart from the panels, the 2023 Agri-Food Days are also a cereal exchange which aims to promote the linking of supply and demand for agricultural products, in order to establish lasting relationships between players and operators, buyers. and sellers but also to promote the marketing of agricultural production from surplus regions to deficit regions; days dedicated to children or “Stimulus Days” whose objective is to stimulate the love for the consumption of national agri-food products among children; B2B meetings, etc.
Innovations, the 12e JAAL has no shortage of them. There is, in particular, the organization of The future of Weak ribbon, an initiative to promote collaborations between research and innovation leaders for open and responsible innovation. And this, through the launch of a call for applications for the selection and support of 15 entrepreneurs. Another innovation is the holding of a Pan-African Agri-food Industries Forum, a framework offered to stakeholders at the African level, to reflect on the future of the agri-food sector on the continent. Precisely, on the future of this sector, the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Kyelem, thinks that “for a resilient, prosperous, dynamic and competitive agro-industry in the context of the ZLECAF, the actors of the sector must work to strengthen the quality national products, through standardization, certification and labeling.
Béranger KABRE (Contributor)
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Agri-food, vital for the national economy
En initiating reflection on the development of the agri-food industry, players in the sector are convinced that it is vital for the national economy, particularly in its transformation aspect. “Given the need for consumption of raw materials from this sector, processing constitutes an essential link in the agricultural value chain, stimulates production and creates added value for the country’s economy. It is this transformation which produces added value in the constitution of the GDP and on this transformation the increase in producers’ income depends”, in fact, supported the Minister Delegate in charge of animal resources, Amadou Dicko, during the the opening ceremony of the JAAl.
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