Burkina Faso has accumulated more than 380,000 tonnes of strategic food sovereignty stocks following extensive cereal acquisitions from domestic farmers during the 2025–2026 agricultural campaign, Minister of Agriculture Ismaël Sombié announced on Tuesday.
Speaking during a panel discussion on local production and consumption at the Ouagadougou International Arts and Crafts Fair (SIAO), Minister Sombié revealed that the state purchased over 350,000 tonnes of cereals directly from local producers, significantly bolstering national reserves and stabilizing domestic agricultural markets.
The expansion of national food reserves reflects major gains driven by the government’s 2023–2025 Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive, which propelled total national cereal production from 4.66 million tonnes prior to the initiative to 7.14 million tonnes in 2025—a 53% surge that covers 124% of Burkina Faso’s annual consumer requirements. Paddy rice yields also achieved a historical milestone, surpassing one million tonnes for the first time to reach 1,008,737 tonnes in 2025. To support these volume gains, state authorities are expanding national processing and logistics infrastructure, encompassing 418 storage warehouses, 11 cold-storage facilities, and 63 processing units. Looking ahead, the government plans to mobilize CFAF839.99 billion for the second phase of the offensive (2026–2028), focusing on developing 50,000 hectares of irrigated farmland and 100,000 hectares of lowlands to ensure long-term value-chain sustainability and full agricultural self-sufficiency.
HO/te/lb/abj/APA