In collaboration with its partners, the Sustain Africa Burkina Faso project organized a fertilizer fair to emphasize the physical and economic accessibility of quality fertilizers at affordable prices for smallholder farmers. The fair took place June 13-15 in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, a location chosen for its high agricultural production.
The fertilizer fair brought together small-scale agricultural producers, organizations of agricultural producers, students from agronomy training schools, agricultural researchers, private sector agricultural companies, and distributors of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. Various agricultural products approved by the Government of Burkina Faso, such as fertilizers of different formulations to seeds, organic fertilizers, and pesticides, were featured in the 30 exhibition booths. The quality of the fertilizers was verified on site by the General Directorate of Plant Production of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources, and Fisheries (MARAH) of Burkina Faso.
Directed by its theme – physical and economic accessibility of quality fertilizers at affordable costs for small-scale agricultural producers – the fertilizer fair facilitated discussions between stakeholders in the fertilizer value chain. These discussions generally focused on the accessibility of quality agricultural fertilizers in the context of geopolitical crisis and the contribution of the fertilizer sector to achieving the objectives of the Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive in Burkina Faso.
“The fertilizer fair facilitated direct exchanges between fertilizer distributors and small-scale agricultural producers. It also provided a platform to facilitate the sale of quality fertilizers at affordable prices.”
Kouka Kaboré, Sustain Africa burkina faso program manager
The actions of the initiative contribute to the agro-sylvo-pastoral offensive of the Government of Burkina Faso, whose objective is to achieve food sovereignty. “Despite the efforts made by the Government of Burkina Faso as part of the 2023-2025 agro-sylvo-pastoral offensive, the availability of quality fertilizers remains below the needs of small-scale producers. Faced with this situation, we welcome, on behalf of the Minister in charge of Agriculture, the Sustain Africa Burkina Faso project, which aims to support small-scale producers by promoting their access to quality fertilizers,” explained MARAH representative Sylvain Kaboré.
Sustain Africa Burkina Faso responds specifically to the major challenges small-scale agricultural producers encounter in the acquisition of quality fertilizers. The program aims to provide access to 10,000 tons of quality fertilizers to 50,000 small-scale agricultural producers from the regional value chains for rice and corn, as well as market garden crops, such as onion, tomato, cabbage, pepper, and squash.
Sustain Africa Burkina Faso, part of the global Sustain Africa Initiative, is a crisis and resilience response to improve the availability, affordability, and efficient and sustainable use of fertilizers. The initiative is funded by Rabobank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), along with support from AGRA.
The Sustain Africa Burkina Faso project is implemented by IFDC, in collaboration with the Société d’Exploitation des Phosphates du Burkina (SEPB), the Agro-Input Wholesalers and Retailers Association (AGRODIA), and the Société Coopérative avec Conseil d’Administration des Commerçants d’Intrants et de Matériels Agricoles du Burkina Faso (SCOOP-CA CIMA-BF). IFDC has been supporting national initiatives for decades by strengthening the fertilizer value chain and developing technologies adapted to respective contexts and that meet the needs of producers.
Sustain Africa Burkina Faso will continue to work towards a future where farmers are equipped with the resources needed to sustainably increase their yields and improve their livelihoods, contributing to a more prosperous and food-secure world.
