Burkina Faso
November 30, 2015
Perennial fears of losing great amounts of produce and revenue − due to post-harvest losses ─ are gradually becoming a thing of the past among farmers in the Ziro province of Burkina Faso. Farmer organizations are receiving training and equipment to provide the needed post-harvest management skills and services to members. This is because the phenomenon of post-harvest losses has raided the efforts of many smallholder farmers in many parts of the country, including those in the Ziro Province of Burkina Faso.
We appreciate these challenges, and are providing technical and financial support to some farmer-based organizations through our Réduction des pertes post-récolte et accès au marché (RPAM) project, to help farmers produce quality grains, to be more competitive, and increase their incomes. One of such organizations is the Union Provincial des Professionnels agricoles du Ziro (UPPAZ) in Burkina Faso.
UPPAZ has 4,300 members out of which 60% are women. The organization and its members focus on production and commercialization of maize, millet and sorghum. Over the years, their main challenges have been how to reduce post-harvest losses, and become more profitable. With the support they received from AGRA, through RPAM, since 2013, they are able to provide skills training and equipment to members. RPAM has supported research work and local artisans to develop post-harvest management equipment, which responds to the needs of farmers, subsidized the cost of 3 dehusking and threshing machines, by paying $5,400 (60%) out of a total cost of 4, 500,000 ($9,000), and provided extensive technical training on managing the equipment and produce more efficiently.
In all, 26 equipment have been subsidized by the project for farmer-organizations and private sector operators to help farmers in various farming communities within five provinces ─ Ziro, Oubritenga, Kouritenga, Boulgou, and Nahouri. The equipment has 2 -3MT/hour capacity, and produces high quality grains. 20 more of the equipment are being produced with support from the project.
“It is as a result of RPAM’s support that UPPAZ was able to secure 3 of the equipment for our members. Generally, the equipment help to produce quality grains, and reduce time taken to dehusk, thresh, and clean the grains. It also helps us reduce the cost of production of quality grains. At the end of the entire process our members make a lot of direct and indirect gains on the use of the equipment. There is great demand for the equipment due to the quality of produce we get from the use of the equipment. We need more of these to meet the needs of our members and non-member farmers in our communities,” said Norbert Ouédraogo, General Secretary of UPPAZ.
“Before I started benefiting from the services of the machine, I used to employ many women to dehusk and shell my maize. This took a lot of time and money. I paid 100,000 FCFA ($200) for 6 – 7MT, and this took 2 weeks to complete. Now, with the machine, I pay 65,000 FCFA ($130) for the same quantity, and this takes less than a week to complete,” said Robert NIkiéma, a member of UPPAZ. “There are several benefits including quality grains, less effort, less time, fast selling of grains and increase in revenue.”
UPPAZ rents out this equipment to members as well as non-members for a fee to help pay back the cost, maintain the equipment, and also purchase additional ones for the organization. The equipment is rotated among members who need its services. It is also operated at aggregation centres established by the organization. For members, UPPAZ charges 800 FCFA ($1.30)/100kg, and charges 1000 FCFA ($2.00)/100kg for non-members for dehusking and threshing services.
“As a result of the quality of grains our farmers produce using the equipment, major grain buyers such as the World Food Program (WFP) and Société nationale de gestion des stocks de sécurité alimentaire du Burkina Faso (SONAGESS) have targeted us as a good source to buy grains from. We are happy that members of the farmer groups are putting measures in place to sustain their activities,” said Isac Bonkoungou, project manager, RPAM.
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