“Rehabilitating degraded land is a priority for Burkina Faso”, says FAO Director General

Ouagadougou - During his visit to Burkina Faso from 18-20 February, FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva had a look at the new specialised plough for mechanised land preparation, purchased by FAO under its project Action Against Desertification.

"The rehabilitation of degraded land is a priority for Burkina,” said the Director General, who expressed his appreciation of the purchase. “We need to see how FAO can start similar programmes at bigger scale to accompany the efforts of the government of Burkina Faso.”  

The new equipment, composed of a tractor and a Delfino plough, will allow to further upscale land restoration in Burkina Faso.

With the support of Action Against Desertification, over 4 200 hectares of degraded land have been planted to start their restoration since 2016. For 2018, an estimated 2 000 hectares of land will be planted for restoration.

Action Against Desertification helps to roll out the Great Green Wall initiative in Burkina Faso. It aims to halt and reverse land degradation, promoting large-scale restoration and sustainable land management of natural resources.

Land degradation poses a serious threat to the sustainable development of Burkina Faso. One-third of its national territory is degraded, over 9 million hectares of productive land, an area that is estimated to expand at an average of 360 000 hectares per year.

More about the Action Against Desertification

Action Against Desertification is an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in support of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel initiative and national UNCCD action plans. It promotes sustainable land management and restoration of degraded land in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Action Against Desertification is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union in the framework of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF).