Yatenga Province in Burkina Faso Expects Over 80 Tons of Rice Amid Improved Security

Burkina Faso is set to harvest over 80 tonnes of rice planted on the banks of the Zamdogo rice lowland in the Yatenga Province of the country.

This was disclosed on October 22 by the Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB), the government-run national television network, which interviewed some of the indigenous farmers and support groups.

According to RTB, this results from the efforts of a model group of producers supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC.

The government-run national television network also indicated that the region planted 16 hectares of land and expected more than 80 tons of rice in the harvest at the maturity stage.

The rice is at the maturity stage in this lowland of the village schools of Zamdogo,” RTB stated, as reported by Karmil Boudo and Aïcha Dianda.

We are in the commune of Kalsaka, Yatenga Province. In this lowland of over 40 hectares, 16 hectares have been developed and planted with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” it added, ‘From the 16 hectares, more than 80 tons of rice are expected.’

Speaking to reporters on site (farmland), Yacouba Ouedraogo, an agronomist at the ICRC, stated,

We can say that currently, we are satisfied, more than satisfied because when we did the evaluations, we found that the lowland was there and utilised at certain sites.

Similarly, the Head of the Department in charge of agriculture in Kalsaka, Boukary Belem, said,

The uniqueness of this lowland is in the development itself, it’s a pre-business type of development. Before the development, people were getting around one and half tons.

But with the development that the ICRC helped us with, you can already see that we estimate 5 tons per hectare,” Belem stated, adding, ‘Out of the 100 producers here from the high communities and internally displaced persons of Kalsaka, including 88 women, exploit these sites.’

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Yakouba Kiemde, the secretary-general of Wendlanpanga Cooperative of Zamdogo, in words, expressed thanks to the ICRC for its support.

Regarding the development in the south of the lowland, we received equipment. This intervention aligns with the ministry’s policy in terms of development. So that we can have the quality developments and ensure rice production,” Kiemde stated, adding, ‘Already, it allows for increased areas. The ICRC also provided beneficiaries with rice seeds and fertilisers as well.’

In addition, the RTB highlighted that the ICRC aims to equip the sites with boreholes to enable the youth and women of Andougos to engage in off-season farming.

Meanwhile, the large farm produce of rice, as estimated, has shown the commitment of the country’s interim President, Ibrahim Traore, to end insecurity following the exit of French troops due to the failure of Operation Barkhane, a counterinsurgency operation in the country.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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