The government of Burkina Faso has officially launched an African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) supported project to bolster food security in the country against the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Emergency Project for Increasing Agricultural Production in Burkina Faso (PURPA-BF) was launched on 6 February 2024 at the national Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries in Ouagadougou. The minister, Major Ismaël Sombié, oversaw the launch ceremony. He was joined by Amadou Dicko, Deputy Minister for Animal Resources, Daniel Ndoye, the African Development Bank‘s Country Manager for Burkina Faso, Abdoulaye Bassinga, Governor of the countries Centre region, and 200 farmers and agricultural stakeholders.

Under its African Emergency Food Production Facility (https://apo-opa.co/3w9dfal), the African Development Bank Group, has provided  €38.4 million—nearly the entire project cost— for  PURPA-BF. It will supply nearly 9,000 tons of certified climate adapted seeds to 330,000 farmers to help increase production of maize, rice, soya, cowpea, sorghum and wheat. The farmers-- more than half of them are women, internally displaced individuals and youth-- will also receive 36,000 tons of fertiliser. The project is primarily targeting the country's major irrigated plains around Bagrépôle, Bama, Banzon and Karfiguéla.

Implementation is expected to boost national rice production by 430,000 tons and maize production by 707,000 tons. Other crops will also see production increases.

In a statement delivered by PURPA-BF coordinator Daniel Gampiné, Minister Sombié said, “Since Burkina Faso joined the African Development Bank Group, the Bank has stepped up its efforts to provide effective support for the government's development initiatives,” he said. “This unwavering commitment by the Bank symbolises the exemplary nature of the strong collaboration between it and our country in several sectors. In the areas of agriculture, animal resources and fisheries, for which I am responsible, the Bank's commitment has consistently resulted in the implementation of development projects and programmes.”

“The African Development Bank welcomes the relevance of this ambitious programme and asserts its willingness to support its implementation,” said Country Manager Ndoye. “It should be noted that the Bank's public financing portfolio in Burkina Faso is mainly focused on the agriculture and environment sector, which accounts for 34 per cent of the Bank's total funding within the country, with commitments of more than 110 billion CFA francs (€167 million).”

Madi Kondombo, representative of the Chamber of Agriculture, warmly thanked the government and the African Development Bank for initiating this project, which brings a real sense of hope to farmers.

The project will complement the government’s ‘2023-25 Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive’ programme launched last year. It also aligns with the Interim Country Strategy Paper 2022-2025 for Burkina Faso, which prioritizes support for agricultural value chains, as well as the Bank's ‘Feed Africa’ strategy.

The African Development Bank is one of Burkina Faso's leading partners, with current commitments of over €701 million. According to Mr Ndoye, the Bank intends to maintain its support for and solidarity with the government and its people in their development efforts, with a particular focus on improving living conditions, food security and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in areas with high socio-economic potential.