On December 10, 2024, Solidar Suisse received a mission from the Brussels-based Enabel headquarters as part of the follow-up to the Climate Sahel Thematic Portfolio (PTCS). The mission was led by Marie HERMAN, an expert in sustainable food systems and PTCS focal point. The mission’s program included two highlights: a visit to a Rilgré project in Moackin, in the commune of Absouya, followed by an exchange with Solidar Suisse at the Rilgré Project Management Unit in Kaya.
In Moackin, on the site of a field under CES/DRS development, the mission from Enabel headquarters, accompanied by PCTS regional and Burkina managers and the Rilgré UGP team, was welcomed by the Communauté de Pratiques Agroécologiques Rilgré (CoRi) of the Absouya commune. The Community Facilitator of the Rilgré project in the commune of Absouya explained to the mission the progress of the work carried out on the site in terms of support from the Rilgré project. The 3-hectare field, once degraded and abandoned for 5 years, belonging to Ouédraogo Noufou – a beneficiary of the Rilgré project – has been reclaimed through a combination of several agroecological practices, including the creation of stone barriers, zaï and half moons. Crops were treated with bio-inputs including bokashi and kogelgzanga during the past season. The crop grown is sorghum, and production is estimated at 3 tonnes 834 kg, giving a yield of 1.25 tonnes per hectare using the yield square technique: a success given the average yield of the same crop, estimated at around 700 kg, in the locality.
A view of the field reclaimed using the half-moon technique, sown with sorghum and producing an estimated 3 tonnes 834 kg, i.e. a yield of 1.25 tonnes per hectare.
At the end of the visit, the mission spoke with the owner of the field and other members of the CoRi, direct beneficiaries of the Rilgré project, about the benefits of adopting agroecological practices and their concerns, which boil down to the need for water to carry out market gardening activities after the wet season.
In Kaya, the mission team’s discussions with Solidar Suisse focused mainly on progress in implementing the Rilgré project, capitalizing on the various innovative approaches of the Rilgré project, in particular the CoRi community-based approach, and collaborative relations with the PTCS-Burkina team. It was agreed that Solidar Suisse and Enabel would pool their efforts to capitalize on the innovative approaches.
The Rilgré project is being implemented by the Solidar Suisse consortium and the Association Beo-Neeré Agroécologie (ABNA) in partnership with the Wendkuni Association. Its overall aim is to improve the integrated management of natural resources and sustainably restore natural ecosystems in the Sahel, in order to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations in the face of climate change. It covers 13 communes in the Plateau-Central, Centre-Nord and Centre-Est regions.
The Rilgré project is financed by the Kingdom of Belgium as part of the implementation of the Portefeuille Thématique Climat Sahel (PTCS)-volet Burkina Faso.
#Enabel
#Solidar Switzerland
#Beo-Neeré Agroecology Association #Wendkuni Association
