The World Vegetable Center is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. After events in Benin and Mali, WorldVeg director general Marco Wopereis and West and Central Africa regional director Malick Ba visited Burkina Faso (20-22 September 2023), to take stock of research and development activities in the country, especially related to the SafeVeg project.

The WorldVeg delegation visiting seed production sites in Burkina Faso

Boutapa (Boutique de l’Agro-Pastoral) is a seed company in the commune of Loumbila that specializes in the import, export and distribution of agricultural inputs. With support from the SafeVeg project, it has strengthened its seed production capacity for amaranth, African eggplant, okra and tomato.

Visiting Boutapa’s seed packaging and storage warehouse

The WorldVeg delegation saw the progress of the company’s activities, and visited seed production fields of amaranth (variety AMGAR2, 1250 m²), African aubergine (variety L10, 1600 m²) and okra (variety Kéléya, 120 m²). Despite a number of difficulties including diseases and low germination rates, the WorldVeg director general said he was very satisfied with the achievements. A total of 10,500 seed kits will soon be distributed to growers, to promote the use of high yielding varieties adapted to local climatic conditions, and thank to the work of Boutapa with support from SafeVeg, producers in Burkina Faso will now be able to source locally produced seeds.

Visit to seed production fields of African eggplant (foreground) and amaranth (background)

A delegation from the European Union joined the WorldVeg team to visit the Goût du Café restaurant in Karpala district, Ouagadougou, supported by the SafeVeg project to promote the consumption of leafy vegetables. The owner Marie Ouédraogo was delighted to explain how she has benefited from the support of the SafeVeg project in expanding the choice of vegetables she offers, and learning new cooking methods that ensure that taste, quality and nutritive values are maximized. She said there was now a more regular supply of leafy vegetables, and that sales had increased thanks to SafeVeg’s awareness-raising efforts. She was satisfied with current demand, though most customers are men at the moment. So, the scaling phase will employ strategies to extend the promotion of vegetable consumption to women and children, including in school canteens and health clinics. Links to other components of the SafeVeg project will also increase the availability of a wider range of vegetables.

Marie Ouédraogo, owner of the Goût du café restaurant, gives her thanks to the EU and WorldVeg visitors

The delegation also visited Ferme d’Or, a company that produces around 50 kg of tomato puree per day over a period of 4 to 5 months. Thanks to support from the SafeVeg project, Ferme d’Or has benefited from capacity building in market research, digital marketing and access to credit, but the company faces challenges in the off-season when the price of tomatoes is high. Packaging is also an issue, so the project is looking at buying packaging collectively through bulk orders to reduce costs.

Listening to the experiences of the manager of Ferme d’Or, Rokya Seynou Traoré

SafeVeg aims to improve the functioning of vegetable value chains by strengthening relationships between different value chain actor, to further increase the production and consumption of healthy vegetables. At the end of two days of visits and discussions with stakeholders and implementing partners, the WorldVeg delegation were very happy to see the progress made by the SafeVeg project in Burkina Faso, and that much more would surely be achieved in the coming years.

Natacha Ouedraogo Epse Gouba

SafeVeg is implemented by the World Vegetable Center in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, in partnership with WUR and CIRAD, and the Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA) in Burkina faso, and the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER) in Mali. This research was carried out with funding from the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands through the project Safe locally produced vegetables for West Africa’s consumers (SafeVeg) – ID-4000003936, part of the DeSIRA program). The views expressed in this document can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.