In Fada N’Gourma, eastern Burkina Faso, newly developed market gardening sites established by the authorities are helping hundreds of internally displaced people, alongside members of host communities, regain a source of livelihood amid ongoing security and humanitarian challenges.
In the green fields on its outskirts, internally displaced women tend vegetable plots under a blazing sun. Beyond the anticipated harvests, what is taking root here is above all a renewed sense of hope and a fresh start.
According to the communications department of the Ministry of Family and Solidarity, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Family and Solidarity, Lieutenant Colonel Passowendé Pélagie Kaboré, conducted a working visit from May 21 to 23 across the Goulmou, Tapoa and Sirba regions to assess ongoing initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable populations.
In Fada N’Gourma, the first stop of the visit, she toured a market gardening site operated by the simplified cooperative society “Boama,” located in Sector 1. The four-hectare site, developed by the Ministry of Family and Solidarity, brings together displaced women and women from host communities in shared agricultural activities.
The site is equipped with a simplified potable water supply system with a flow rate of 12 cubic meters per hour, storage basins, and perimeter fencing designed to secure the crops. The producers grow vegetables both for household consumption and for sale on local markets.
In Sector 6, the minister also visited a second 4.62-hectare site developed under the presidential initiative. The project brings together 167 farmers, including 87 internally displaced persons and 80 members of host communities.
For the authorities, these initiatives form part of a broader strategy aimed at the sustainable recovery of populations affected by insecurity. “Help us so that we can help you,” the minister told the farmers, announcing a rapid assessment of production capacities in order to better tailor future support.
These agricultural schemes are increasingly seen as spaces for social cohesion and economic empowerment. As some areas gradually regain stability, several families are now considering returning to their places of origin.
HO/te/lb/as/APA