Gourcy — A guided tour of a sorghum field took place in Lèba on October 26, 2023, as part of the “Kick Start” technical package implemented by the NGO Help. Producers from the communes of Bassi and Lèba in the province of Zondoma, and those from Oula in Yatenga, were invited for this tour, chaired by Koanfanou Debora Kordiary, the president of the Special Delegation of the commune of Lèba.
According to a new release by Burkina Information Agency, the tour aims to promote sustainable agricultural practices through the use of improved seeds.
In collaboration with the Fédération des Groupements Naam and local agricultural agents, NGO Help is supporting 200 producers in the Northern Region for the 2023-2024 agricultural campaign. This initiative is part of the “Soonré” project designed to ensure livelihoods and strengthen resilience to crises for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees, and host populations in the Centre-North and North Region.
In the commune of Lèba, approximately 25 kilometers from Gourcy, the field belonging to Sayouba Savadogo was the focus of the October 26 guided tour. Project manager Julien Nimbrata Ouédraogo stated that the primary objective of this visit was to encourage both beneficiary and non-beneficiary producers to adopt sustainable land management practices, notably the use of certified seeds of improved varieties.
Savadogo, an internally displaced person from the neighboring village of Bouloulou, planted improved white sorghum seeds known locally as “Kapèlga” over an area of 0.75 hectares. According to agricultural technician Jean Paligdi Savadogo, who guided the producer through the planting process, the expected yield using the recommended technical package is 1.2 tons.
Abdoulatif Kiendrebéogo, Help’s agriculture specialist, discussed the advantages of the “Kick Start” technical package with participants from the communes of Bassi, Lèba, and Oula. Benefits include resistance to water stress, a 90-day production cycle, high productivity of 1.5 tonnes per hectare, and fodder quality. However, challenges such as the invasion of the parasitic weed striga and scarcity of arable land were also addressed.
Technicians advised field rotation, crop rotation, and intensive agriculture as potential solutions to these challenges. The consensus among the participants was a recognition of the urgent need to use certified improved seeds, particularly in the face of climate change.
The “Kick Start” package includes support in the recovery of degraded land, construction of manure pits, and techniques for composting and post-harvest management. To recognize Sayouba Savadogo’s successful implementation, the Help team awarded him a wheelbarrow and a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer.