Climate change and the lack of appropriate farming techniques are leading to a drop in agricultural yields, as farmers are unable to cover their food requirements all year round. This leads to a difficult period known as the hunger gap, during which producers struggle to obtain grain for their food. To address this situation, Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso, in collaboration with its local partners the Association Manegdbzanga (AM) in the province of Bassitenga, the Association Tind Yalgré (ATY) in the province of Kourwéogo and the Association Beog Neeré du Ganzourgou (ABNG), as part of the “Renforcement des Moyens d’existence (Renforce)” project, is implementing an endogenous mechanism that facilitates access to food for vulnerable households during the lean season –the “solidarity granary”. This approach consists of setting up food stocks based on voluntary contributions from communities, with the possibility of loans and repayments in kind. Testimonials!
“My name is DABILGOU Wendgomdé, and I come from the village of Zéguédéguin (Namentenga province). Because of the difficult security situation, I moved here to the Ganzourgou province with my family of 19. I’ve been living here for one (01) year, and have been warmly welcomed by the locals, who have lent me a plot of land to farm. I have also benefited from a loan of 50kg of sorghum to feed my family, even though I am not a member of the solidarity granary. The availability of the solidarity granary in the village is a great help to vulnerable families like us, internally displaced persons. It’s a community self-help initiative that I discovered here. I invite the initiators to popularize this approach for the resilience of rural populations often faced with food insecurity, particularly during the lean season.”
“I’m Ganemtoré Minata, a member of the solidarity granary in the village of Moaga (Ganzourgou province). In our locality, we are often faced with food insecurity due to poor soils and scarce rainfall. But thanks to the Solidar Suisse project, we have benefited from training in field management using CES/DRS techniques such as cordons pierreux, zaï, etc. We also learned about the solidarity granary, a community self-help initiative that helps us cope with food insecurity. During the lean season, I twice borrowed 20 dishes of sorghum (60 kg) to meet my family’s food needs. Before, I had to ask relatives in the capital for help. Now I’m self-sufficient, and when I’m short of grain, I get it locally from the solidarity granary.”
As a reminder, the RENFORCE project is funded by the LED (Liechtensteinischer Entwicklungsdienst).
