Manga: The Network for the Promotion and Empowerment of Rural Women (REPAFER Burkina) provided essential equipment to 30 women's cooperatives in the Zoundw©ogo and Nahouri provinces. The donation, which took place on Friday in Manga, included tricycles, solar dryers, fermentation tanks, hulling motors, mills, crushers, and butter filtration equipment to enhance production capacities and resilience against climate change.

According to Burkina Information Agency, this initiative is part of the "Strengthening the resilience of women and young people to the effects of climate change within the framework of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus (LUA61)" project. Conducted by the NGO Association for Peace and Solidarity (APS) in collaboration with Solidarity Inclusive Development (SOLIDEV), the project received financial backing from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The handover ceremony at the REPAFER headquarters in Manga marked the end of nearly two years of intervention in the Nazinon and Bankui regions, including Zoundw©ogo, Nahouri, Bal©s, and Mouhoun provinces.

The equipment aims to improve non-timber forest product processing and boost the agricultural productivity of the beneficiaries. Mamounata Ki, the executive director of REPAFER Burkina, highlighted the initiative as "a dream come true" for rural women lacking suitable equipment, aligning with national priorities for sustainable action and reaffirming the organization's commitment to monitoring achievements with technical services.

Val©rien Bationo, the APS-SOLIDEV project manager, emphasized the initiative's role in strengthening cooperative productivity, market access, and gender-based violence prevention through an integrated approach. Haoua Ou©draogo, secretary general of the Zoundw©ogo province, urged beneficiaries to maintain and responsibly use the equipment to solidify partner trust and promote action expansion.

Agn¨s Dissou, president of the "Wesso-Diban" cooperative, expressed gratitude to the partners, pledging to utilize the equipment to enhance members' living conditions. The initiative involves over 700 direct beneficiaries across 30 cooperatives, aiming to bolster women's economic empowerment, food security, and social cohesion in the targeted areas.