After the areas of Manga in the Center-South, Koupéla in the Center-East, it is in Dapélogo in the Plateau-Central, that the OFAB – Burkina team rolled around on September 7, 2023 with the aim of raising awareness. producers on the need to adopt agricultural biotechnologies.
Faced with an audience made up mostly of agricultural producers, the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in collaboration with the Institute for the Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA) and AFRICA-BIOTECH preferred a theater forum rather than an awareness workshop as they are used to.
This forum theater is designed around two films entitled ”the ravaged pest” and ”sowing life”. Films which respectively evoke the problems of the use of pesticides by producers and preconceived ideas in terms of agricultural innovations and improved seeds.
All complemented by a projection of a few slides illustrating the evolution of technology whether in transport, public works, health, food or agriculture.
“ The forum theater zooms in on the behavior of our producers in real time and how it can be detrimental to food security or even the health of the producer and the populations and then we do a short presentation to show how research can bring of seed technology to face these constraints ,” summarizes the coordinator of OFAB – Burkina, Dr Egard Traoré.
In Dapélogo, many farmers have understood the advantages of using improved seeds. According to the head of the agriculture department of this commune in the province of Oubritenga, to date it is estimated that two out of three households use improved seeds. In this locality, there are even seed producers from whom other producers obtain their supplies.
“ Often, explains the head of the agriculture department, Daniel Ouili , state grants are not enough for everyone.” “As there are seed producers on site who produce, we often recommend that producers go to the market to find them. The problem is that on the market place the cost is much higher than at the state level because at the state level, seeds are subsidized ,” he continues.
More than 300 varieties developed by research, but only -25% used
Eveline Ouédraogo, a producer who followed the forum theater, is full of praise for this initiative. “ We are very happy with this awareness session. We were shown the benefits of using improved seeds.
It must be said that here we already use improved seeds. That is to say, we know what it is. The previous year alone, we only did a small area, but frankly we were pleasantly surprised by the yield. I advise those who are not yet using improved seeds to do so because it is to their advantage ,” she says.
At a time when the climate crisis combined with the security crisis is only exacerbating the challenges related to the food and nutritional security of populations, it is important to turn to the solutions that science can provide.
And in this area, Burkinabè research has not been idle at all. In Burkina Faso, more than 300 improved varieties of different crops have been developed by National Research. However, to date only less than 25% of these varieties are used.
Hence this call from the coordinator of OFAB – Burkina, Dr. Edgard Traoré: “ We encourage all producers in the country to move towards technologies that are locally developed by our own researchers. We must believe in our researchers and go towards these seeds . ”
In any case, in Dapélogo, the feedback is positive and those who are still doubtful are asked to adopt agricultural biotechnologies to cope with the constraints linked to agricultural production.
