UN News chats to team behind MAFAP Burkina Faso agriculture investment report
In a radio interview with ONU Info, Thibault Meilland, Policy Analyst in the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agriculture Policies (MAFAP) Programme at FAO and Jean Baptiste Koadima, Economist and Statistician from the Ministry of Agriculture discuss the importance of agriculture and priority areas for government spending in the sector, following the release of a joint report.
During the podcast-style interview, the panelists discuss Burkinabe agriculture, pain points in production and the benefits of higher and targeted government investment in the sector.
Priority crops, such as cereals, which in 2019 totalled almost 5 million tonnes and are considered basic staple foods in Burkina Faso. Yet, commericialisation, food processing and productivity gains are "weaker" areas, said Mr Koadima.
Government spending on agriculture is "very important" for the country as a whole, as the majority of the population lives in rural areas and agriculture is a primary source of income. Among other areas, more government funds are set to be earmarked for agricultural research and technology and to boost productivity, added Koadima.
"To reach the country's objectives for agricultural transformation, Burkina Faso should increase its public expenditure on food and agriculture", said Mr Meilland of one of the report's 4 main recommendations. He also also highlighted that allocating 10% of national budget to food and agriculture is target under the Maputo Declaration 2003.
Beyond higher spending, a more targeted and diversified (for example on extension services towards sorghum and sesame producers) would have a positive impact on productivity and rural incomes. This strategic allocation of public resources, together with strengthened extension services, rural infrastructure and better access to financial services would allow farmers and consumers to directly and indirectly benefit from agricultural transformation, added Mr Meilland of the report's other recommendations.
Click here to read the short web article and to listen here (both in French) to the full 16-minute interview with Thibualt Meilland of MAFAP/FAO, Jean-Baptiste Koadima of the Ministère de l’Agriculture et des Aménagements Hydro-agricoles and Florence Westergard of ONU Info.
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