Burkina Faso : GSA
The context: In the North of Burkina Faso the wet season is short and irregular. That is why family farming very often suffers from lack of sufficient crops and between harvests the farmers have to buy cereals or other basic foodstuff using the (small) income generated from other activities like cattle breeding, vegetable growing or off-farm activities.
However, to buy cereals during this period, families face various difficulties: unaffordable cereal prices, difficult access to town stores (long distances, impracticable roads because of the rain), etc.
A project to assist the local population: In the beginning of the seventies, several farmers’ organizations set up “cereal banks” in their villages to alleviate this situation. Their role is to buy a stock of cereals just after the harvest, at the lowest possible price. The stock is then sold to farmers and villages at a good price to bridge the gap between harvests.
In 2002 took place an evaluation of the granaries network run by the FNGN (National Federation of Naam Groups) uniting 700.000 members. On its basis SOS Faim and its local partner launched a new five-year programme aiming to enhance the network.
The granaries which give results: Food products range available in all 141 granaries has been diversified and much emphasis has been put on training and building up management capacities of the GSA members in charge in order to enable them to buy cereals on the best possible terms.
Thanks to these actions since 2004 the granaries have been able to offer larger quantities of foodstuff and thus to better meet the local population’s needs.
