The greenery of the market garden of the “Zemstaaba” cooperative in Nagréongo reflects the collective work of the local population and the internally displaced people.

On March 01, 2022, a team from the NGO Solidar Suisse Burkina visited the implementation site of the Project resilience and social cohesion (PRECOS)located in the commune of Nagréongo din in the Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso. The visit, which took place in the presence of the local partner, “L’Association Manegdbzanga”, enabled the mission team to see the activities promoted there: Bokashi, MaBYZ, market gardening alongside surface water.

Warmly welcomed by members of the “Zemstaaba” cooperative, the mission team began the visit by inquiring about the production process for the organic fertilizer known as “Bokashi”. To facilitate local production of Bokashi fertilizer, members of the “Zemstaaba” cooperative were given training in production and use techniques. According to Moussa TAO, an internally displaced member of the cooperative, ” the production of Bokashi fertilizer begins with the assembly of animal dung, millet stalks cut into small pieces or rice straw, yeast, ash and sugar. The mixture is then watered and stirred morning and evening for 04 days. From day ⁵ onwards, the soil is turned once a day for 5 days. The plots are then spread before ploughing. Each plot requires 02 carts of Bokashi, i.e. 500 kg. Production is carried out collectively, but due to their multiple occupations, some do it at home.

The perimeter covers an area of 3.5 ha, with 107 beneficiaries, including 78 women and 32 IDPs (internally displaced persons). The perimeter is as follows

• a pumping station equipped with a 75 m3/h Changfa motor-driven pump, located downstream of the Ziga dam. The motor pump discharges into a 125 mm-diameter pipe buried in the ground up to the catch basin at the central end of the perimeter, which feeds two rows of 100 mm-diameter primary pipes. On each row, sprinkler outlets are built every 25m. Each outlet feeds a secondary earth canal, which feeds a tertiary canal perpendicular to the secondary canal and irrigates the plots by gravity. Each beneficiary farms an area of 10mX24m, i.e. 240 m2. Plots fed by the same secondary canal form a block;
• The perimeter is surrounded by 2-meter-wide walkways, a wire fence and 02 entrance gates;
• watering is carried out on a 03-day watering cycle. The watering time is 6 hours (from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.). An average of 15 liters of diesel are required per watering day. Watering is carried out 05 times a week, with a break of 02 days;
• the main crop produced on the perimeter is onions. To maintain the motor pump and cover the fixed costs of this activity, the growers have set up a working capital fund, to which each grower contributes 2,500 FCFA.
• To ensure proper management of the perimeter, the board members of the Zemstaba cooperative were trained in administrative, financial and accounting management. In addition, all 107 market garden producers were trained in agricultural entrepreneurship.

MaBYZ: a local daycare center set up to facilitate childcare for the cooperative’s female producers

In order to facilitate childcare for women working in the market garden perimeter, a local day-care center called “MaBYZ” has been set up a few meters from the site. This initiative, developed and managed by the village’s inhabitants, is much appreciated by the mothers of the Zemstaaba cooperative. A total of 67 children (including 42 girls and 25 boys) from internally displaced persons and host populations are cared for in this day-care center.

The “MaBYZ” day-care center is a straw and wood shed with 04 compartments (a rest area for toddlers, a rest area for older children, a play area and a dining area). The day-care center is run by 02 instructors who have received childcare training. They keep the children entertained with songs to the beat of the tom-toms. To keep MaBYZ running after the project subsidy, cooperative members each donated 02 plates of maize + 01 plate of cowpea. Two perimeter plots have also been dedicated to MaBYZ operations. These plots are maintained by all members of the cooperative. In addition, to cover the costs of the instructors, the members of the cooperative have introduced a contribution of 1,500 FCFA per person (except for the IDPs, whose contribution is voluntary), plus 02 sheep allocated to each of them.

Embouche: an initiative to strengthen the resilience of internally displaced women

To further strengthen the resilience of internally displaced women in the commune of Nagréongo, a few heads of sheep as well as livestock feed have been allocated to these women under the PRECOS project. Officially handed over in October 2021, some of the animals have now reached a good size. However, as the purchase price is low at the moment (30,000f to 35,000f per head), the women would like to continue hiring in order to wait for the favorable purchase period of the Tabaski holiday, which could increase maintenance costs to the detriment of profits.

To round off the visit, the Solidar Suisse Burkina team held a discussion session with members of the “Zemstaaba” cooperative. This session was used to gather members’ feedback, difficulties encountered and prospects for the future. Among the difficulties encountered were the following:

• the scarcity of organic manure (animal dung) for Bokashi production;
• expenses related to the collection and transportation of rubble to plug disused wells within the perimeter;
• insufficient numbers of sheep for fattening;

To remedy this situation and ensure the continuity of the cooperative’s activities, the following recommendations are made:

• the construction of an onion storage warehouse that would enable them to build up enough reserves to sell at an opportune time to increase their profits. This would enable them to support the cooperative’s operating costs in the long term;
• an increase in the number of sheep will improve the availability of raw material for the production of organic fertilizer;
• prospecting for reliable partners to facilitate post-harvest onion sales.

PRECOS is a successful model of a Nexus project that simultaneously addresses three (03) major challenges of rural development: humanitarian, food security and peace. officially launched in October 2021, the activities of the said project were implemented in 03 months. This visit by Solidar Suisse Burkina, the project’s coordinating structure, provided an opportunity to observe the successful integration of the IDPs into the market garden perimeter and the social cohesion that exists between them and the indigenous populations. As a reminder, the producers were grouped together in a cooperative society with official recognition facilitated by the PRECOS project. To encourage this noble action, Seydou BIKIENGA, a local resource person, provided the cooperative with a second motor pump. In view of the positive results observed, the PRECOS project appears to be a model of success that could undoubtedly serve as an example for the implementation of the RESICOM project.