Abstract

Food security and lifting the standard of living of rural populations are among the priority objectives of the Burkina Faso government development policy. The staple diet of populations which live in regions south of the Sahara, especially Burkina Faso, is mainly cereal (sorghum, millet and rice), processed and cooked in ways that destroy nutritional elements. Consequently, sauces made with local protein and vitamin-rich vegetables, spices and leaves are just as important as cereal in the population's food rations and women's income.

The current use of these plants is affected by problems of environment degradation such as desertification which cause, inter alia, genetic erosion; changes in eating habits with the introduction of cheap imported foodstuff; the loss of traditional knowledge in using and preserving these species. This project will enable the Institut d'études et de recherches agricoles du Burkina Faso - INERA (Burkina Faso Institute for Agricultural Studies and Research) to conduct field research to help reclaim the use of these plants, increase food security, save the genetic base and create favourable conditions for women to play a greater role in managing natural resources. This activity should lead to the establishment of a long term strategy for the research, harvest and sustainable management of condiment plants.

Post-Project Summary

Two populations were surveyed by a multidisciplinary team using the participative diagnostic method. The first one lived in the Dapoya ward of the city of Ouagadougou, an old section including a large enough number of aboriginals and foreigners to constitute a representative sample for local vegetable, spice and leaf plant processing and utilization. The second population lived in Wousse, a traditional village living mostly off agriculture, cattle farming and gathering. Producers, saleswomen, restaurant owners and households were surveyed.

Researchers identified different problems in each group. In the urban area (Dapoya), respondents emphasized cash cropping (producing for money), the need for improved seeds for cost effective production and product conservation, transportation and processing problems. Only consumers were concerned with nutritional value. In the rural area, people were fighting for survival and increased household income. The problem of genetic erosion had appeared in local plants, which are not only essential for food but also have medicinal and other traditional uses. The disappearance of these plants, accelerated by desertification and the lack of water, was a factor in the rural exodus.

The researchers noted that in both cases, preserving existing plants will not be enough. Their expansion should be promoted by encouraging domestication of certain species and in situ conservation. As far as research areas are concerned, high-yielding varieties adapted to the area must be found, assuming that enough genetic variability remains to be exploited. Also, product conservation, processing and marketing problems must be solved.

Recipient Institution(s)