Tapoa: Silting as well as human and animal pressures have taken their toll on the Diapaga dam, once considered the cash cow of the population and bearer of hope for market gardeners, as well as for a good part of agricultural, fish farming and livestock activities.

According to Burkina Information Agency, on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the first vice-president of the Diapaga Special Delegation, Soali Ouali, went to assess the situation at the reservoir firsthand. It was 9:00 a.m. when the local official arrived at the banks of the dam. Dozens of carts were filling up with water for domestic use. The water, which appeared muddy, had receded considerably in the dam's bed.

Upon seeing Soali Ouali, the market gardeners converged on him. "We've never seen the dam in this state in January," declared Gnoula, a market gardener working the banks of the dam. According to him, wells have been dug at various locations to alleviate the situation, but the water collected remains insufficient.

A stroll through the gardens around the dam reveals crops exhibiting signs of water stress. The corn, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, eggplants, and carrots are worryingly pale. Yet, for the most part, these crops are still in the ripening stage.

This visit allowed the local authority to meet courageous men and women who refuse to accept their fate and wish to escape the situation of dependency.

Very sensitive to this dynamic of endogenous development, Soali Ouali reassured the producers that the Special Communal Delegation of Diapaga is in talks with financial partners operating in the communal territory, with a view to setting up water towers equipped with solar panels in order to ensure the irrigation of the different crops grown on the banks of the dam.

The producers, in turn, asked the Special Delegation to take steps with the authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to have the dam dredged, as it is in need of rehabilitation, much to the delight of the local communities who benefit from its resources. They promised to increase production tenfold if the Diapaga dam were to be rehabilitated.

As part of the effort to promote peaceful coexistence, plots of land have been allocated to internally displaced persons (IDPs), who are now engaged in agricultural activities there. The farmers have also expressed their desire for a return to peace.