BURKINA FASO / FOOD CRISIS

The food situation is of grave concern in parts of the Sahel, with more than 10 million people at risk of hunger. FAO and the European Union have been working together since June 2009 to boost production and improve food security in Burkina Faso. FAO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:47
• Production Date: 25 June 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION - FAO
• Subject Topical: AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS; AGRICULTURAL POLICY; NUTRITION; RURAL SOCIOLOGY
• Geographic Subject: BURKINA FASO
• MAMS Id: U100625b

Description

STORY: BURKINA FASO / FOOD CRISIS
TRT: 2.47
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / MOORE / NATS

DATELINE: 6, 10 APRIL 2010, BURKINA FASO

Shotlist

6, 10 APRIL 2010, OUAGADOUGOU, KOKOLOGO, BURKINA FASO

1. Various shots, street scenes
2. Med shot, village
3. Wide shot, farm
4. Med shot, man pulling cart at a cereal market

6, 10 APRIL 2010, POA, BURKINA FASO

5. Various shots, Fatimata milling millet for porridge;
6. Med shot, Fatimata fetching water for her family
7. Med shot, Fatimata feeding her children
8. Close up, child eating
9. SOUNDBITE (Moore) Fatimata Nabayaogo:
"I get the water, I collect wood from the bush and I mill the millet to make porridge. After the morning meal, that's it, there's nothing else until the next day."
10. Various shots, Fatimata making clay pots
11. Pan left, from a cart on the road to the sign of the Agriculture Ministry laboratory
12. Med shot, field
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Alphonse Bonou, National Coordinator, FAO:
"We are working on some key factors to boost production, like training farmers in modern production techniques. We are distributing inputs because a bit of fertilizer really helps plants reach their potential. And most importantly, we supply improved seeds for all the small farms here on the plateau."
14. Various shots, inspecting quality of seeds for certification
15. Close up, seeds

6, 10 APRIL 2010, BANZON, BURKINA FASO

16. Med shot, men harvesting rice
17. Med shot, training for rice farmers
18. Various shots, irrigation channels;
19. Med shot, rice fields
20. SOUNDBITE (French): Jean-Pierre Renson, Emergency Coordinator, FAO:
"Areas like this with high production levels can compensate for the next season in vulnerable provinces which don't produce as much, which lack seeds, and which are facing food insecurity. So part of this production from Banzon, and other areas, goes to the high risk areas to fill the deficit."
21. Pan left, seed warehouse
22. Wide shot, road with cart
23. Wide shot, family in a village

Storyline

The food situation is of grave concern in parts of the Sahel, with more than 10 million people at risk of hunger.

In Burkina Faso, harvests are meagre. Livestock pastures are dry. And with consistently high prices for food and farming inputs, levels of hunger and poverty are rising.

Fatimata Nabayaogo lives in Poa, 65 km west of the capital. She is pregnant with her first child, but there are already 23 mouths to feed in this family.

SOUNDBITE (Moore) Fatimata Nabayaogo:
"I get the water, I collect wood from the bush and I mill the millet to make porridge. After the morning meal, that's it, there's nothing else until the next day."

FAO and the European Union have been working together since June 2009 to boost production and improve food security in Burkina Faso. The 18 million Euro programme is benefiting 860,000 vulnerable households.

SOUNDBITE (French) Alphonse Bonou, National Coordinator, FAO:
"We are working on some key factors to boost production, like training farmers in modern production techniques. We are distributing inputs because a bit of fertilizer really helps plants reach their potential. And most importantly, we supply improved seeds for all the small farms here on the plateau."

The primary long-term aim is to create a sustainable system of multiplication and certification of good quality, locally-adapted seeds. But the project also includes work on capacity building, institutional and technical support, research and training, as well as efforts to build up local infrastructure.

For some, the current crisis might even turn into an opportunity. Seed producers in irrigated areas are now able to improve their revenues and contribute to improved food security around the country.

SOUNDBITE (French) Jean-Pierre Renson, Emergency Coordinator, FAO:
"Areas like this with high production levels can compensate for the next season in vulnerable provinces which don't produce as much, which lack seeds, and which are facing food insecurity. So part of this production from Banzon, and other areas, goes to the high risk areas to fill the deficit."

Distributions of improved seed for the next planting season will give 100,000 vulnerable households -about 700,000 people- the chance of a better harvest. This is an important step towards averting another food crisis in the future.