The major theme of the programme in this Sahelian country was the improvement of the soil fertility. As the growing population had intensified the pressure on the land, fallow periods had been shortened, depleting the soil nutrient levels.
The second major programme thrust was to develop farmers’ organizations and credit unions.

1996 was a pilot year to test some strategies with the national extension programme. Rock bunds were constructed and hedges species were planted around various demonstration sites to protect them against erosion and help to restore the soil fertility.
Nearly 300 production test plots focusing on maize and sorghum were produced.

Crop production was down in the country in 1997, due to the late and erratic rainfall. Nationwide, 18 provinces out of 45 reduced their cereal production.
During 1998, 3,700 PTPs were planted with maize, millet, rice, cowpea and groundnut, including 500 PTPs with the QPM variety Obatanpa from Ghana, renamed Masongo (« good mother » in the local language). Soil fertility improvement continued with 280 ha prepared with dykes, 600 plots with compost and phosphate rock, and 500 plots for fallow improvement.
« We learnt a lot from the 1997 and 1998 growing seasons, »said Country Director Marcel Galiba. « Maize and rice are sources of revenue for farmers. Excellent technology exists for these crops and we will continue to expand the PTP programme. In maize, we will focus on the Masongo variety, since it is nutritionally superior to normal maize. »

Galiba felt that millet and sorghum PTPs had not proved entirely successful, and the technology packages were being revised in 1999 in collaboration with research and extension advisors. Lower amounts of fertilisers were likely to be recommended. The new package boosted millet and sorghum yields by 30/50 per cent, but with much lower risk levels.
Year 1999 saw the launch of the CREP movement, with 4 CREPs being established, with a total of 332members. Managers and board members were being trained so that banking activities could begin.
The 1999 field programme saw a considerable expansion. About 1,000 production test plots have been planted with the various green manure crops—Mucuna and Lablab—and another thousand farmers grew maize—with a concentration on the QPM variety Masongo. Some 200 ha one ha maize plots have been planted, in contrast to the usual 0.25 ha size of production plots. Galiba noted: “Farmers are enthusiastic about Masongo and its improved nutritional qualities. We are concentrating, too, on producing and disseminating QPM Seed, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and research institutions”…

Particular attention was will be paid to women and women’s groups to take advantage of the opportunities such as the growing of vegetables— cabbages, carrot and onions—during the dry season. Other income-generating activities in agro-processing and artisan production was will be encouraged.

«The challenges of the Sahel are immense,” comments Marcel Galiba. «The 1997 drought was replaced, in some areas of Burkina, with floods in 1999—and in 1998 much drier conditions again. These extremes require a long-term approach, particularly in combating problems such as soil fertility.”

After 5 years in Burkina, one of SG 2000’s priorities was to produce a logical framework for future activities. The February workshop helped to clarify the mission of SG 2000 Burkina: to improve the relationships between organizations and individuals involved in the project, to set up an agreement basis and ease the project management. It also enabled SG 2000’s partners to understand better the programme and its limitations.

The SG 2000 programme stressed the central role of the production test plot (PTP) as a tool for introducing better varieties and improved cultivation methods (for example, Rajada, a new variety of the legume mucuna, which matures earlier than the more commonly grown variety, and looks promising). About 200 villages had taken part in this programme since 2000.

The concerns about the 50% recovery rates for the input loans had slowed the spread of the project. Starting in 2000, farmers who wished to participate in the PTPs were required to pay cash for the inputs.
Originally, a target of dyke construction to protect 400 hectares was set for 1999, with a significant involvement from farmers. However, because most dyke costs were not refunded, SG 2000’s support was restricted to those villages with high recovery rates from past PTP loans, resulting in only 132 hectares being protected.

The SG 2000 project encouraged the formation of village savings and loan associations, or CREPs (Caisse Rural d’Epargne et de Prêt) to mobilize savings and to provide a locally controlled source of credit. Their managers and board members received training in the banking activities. The CREPs had over 300 members and total savings of almost US$4,000. About 15 percent of the members were women.

Other targets include further development of watershed management interventions and a subsequent increase in income-generating activities for women’s groups: also the diffusion of improved post harvest technology based on grain silos of traditional designs, «which work very well” Galiba comments.

«In 2001, we decided to create more income-generating activities for the farmers in the programme,” comments Galiba. «Sweet potato, yams and cassava were introduced for the first time.” Conservation tillage (CT) was also being evaluated in the cotton zone. «CT technology may offer many benefits,” notes Galiba, “including improving the soil fertility through much management and dramatically reduced labour requirements.”

The 2002 programme again concentrated on soil fertility. The weather on the Sahelian countries is fickle. With good rains in 2001, the country registered an excess of 222,000t of cereals, compared with the 2002 deficit of 98,000t.

Starting with the 2003 rainy season, after a meeting led by the general Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture in March, a new strategy for SG 2000 was launched. This involved the further encouragement of the farmers to purchase inputs on a cash basis, while strengthening fertilizer dealer networks and the CREP movement. Seed production concentrated on QPM and Nerica (New Rice for Africa).

In the 2002/03 season, Burkina achieved a record production of 3,647,000 tons of cereals (millet, maize, sorghum, rice and fonio), which represents a surplus of 1,008,600t, or more than 43% of the population’s consumption needs. In 2003/2004, Burkina was first among the Sahelian countries with a cereal surplus more than 1,000,000mt. But this abundance must have been managed, because of the cereal price drop.

In 2004, Burkina has been the first francophone country to adopt the SAFE programme, at the Université Polytechnique Bobo Dioulasso. “This is a significant development for the SAFE programme and for Burkina”, commented Deola Naibakelao from SAFE.

In 2005 the country continued to report excellent agricultural production results. Sweet potato, largely traded across the border with Ghana, was found to have a very high yield and gave more income to farmers than maize and cowpea.

But in 2006, food security was still a major concern for the Government of Burkina Faso and one of its strategies is to import substitution. This was abandoned in 1978 and has been put back on the agenda. Burkina imports wheat and its derivatives worth approximately US$30 million annually. With only 3,500 ha of wheat, Burkina would be able to cover 90 percent of its needs.
The government has pledged to make required investment of nearly US$10 million to cover 3,500 ha under irrigation, which would lead to Burkina Faso becoming almost self sufficient in wheat. The programme will help to fight poverty as 3,000 jobs are expected to be created in rural areas with more than US$1.3 million distributed to producers.

The SG 2000 programme in Burkina Faso ended in the beginning of 2006.