APA-Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) The African Development Bank (ADB) is assuming 99 percent of the total cost of the ‘Projet d’urgence pour le renforcement de la production alimentaire au Burkina Faso’ (Emergency
project to boost food production in Burkina Faso Purpa), in the form of a grant and a loan.
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has shown African countries dependent on cereal imports the need to work towards food self-sufficiency. With this in mind, the Project (Purpa – BF) was launched on February 6.
According to a statement to APA, the Purpa – BF aims to increase production of maize, rice, soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum and wheat in order to boost food security for the people of Burkina Faso.
To this end, the country of the Integral Men will benefit from a financial contribution of €38.4 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of the African Emergency Food Production Facility.
“This strong commitment from the ADB Group is justified by the project’s consistency with the Interim Country Strategy Paper 2022-2025, one of whose priority areas concerns support for agricultural value chains. The project is also in line with the objectives of the Bank’s “Feeding Africa” strategy” the document explained.
Purpa – BF will supply nearly 9,000 tonnes of certified seed of climate-adapted varieties and 36,000 tonnes of fertilizer to 330,000 producers, over half of whom are women, internally displaced persons and young people, mainly settled around Burkina Faso’s major irrigated plains: Bagrepele, Bama, Banzon and Karfiguéla.
“Its implementation is expected to increase national rice production by 430,000 tonnes and maize production by 707,000 tonnes. Other crops will also see production increases,” the press release said. In 2023, the government launched a program called ‘Offensive Agropastorale et Halieutique (Agro-pastoral and Fisheries Offensive) 2023-2025.”
“The African Development Bank welcomes the relevance of this ambitious program and affirms its readiness to support its implementation. I would like to point out that the Bank’s public financing portfolio in Burkina Faso is mainly oriented towards the agriculture and environment sector, which accounts for 34 percent of the Bank’s total
financing in the country, with commitments of over 110 billion CFA francs (€167 million),” Daniel Ndoye, the ADB’s country representative in Burkina said.
In a speech read by Daniel Gampine, Coordinator of Purpa – BF, Ismael Sombie, Minister of Agriculture, praised the actions of the ADB in his country.
“Since Burkina Faso joined the African Development Bank Group, the latter has been stepping up its efforts to provide effective support for the government’s development initiatives. This ongoing commitment symbolizes the exemplary collaboration between the Bank and our country in a number of sectors. In the field of agriculture, animal resources and fisheries, for which I am responsible, the Bank’s commitment has been consistently reflected in the implementation of development projects and programs,” he declared.
Beyond the agricultural sector, the African Development Bank is one of Burkina Faso’s biggest partners, with current commitments of over 701 million euros.
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