Bitiako and Souri: a decisive step towards women’s secure access to land

As part of its commitment to sustainable and equitable agriculture, INADES-Formation Burkina has taken an important step towards empowering rural women in the villages of Bitiako and Souri. With the involvement of community leaders, deeds of gift of rural land were officially signed for the benefit of certain women, thus ensuring an essential asset for local agricultural development.

On November 27 and 28, 2025, INADES-Formation Burkina organized sessions to sign deeds of gift of rural land to women in the villages of Bitiako and Souri, in Dédougou, capital of the Bankui region. This initiative is part of the ” Gender Equality through Women-led Agroecology in West Africa (EGALE-AO) ” project. Implemented with financial support from Inter Pares and AMC (Global Affairs Canada), the project aims to secure women’s access to agricultural land, a prerequisite for sustainable production and economic empowerment.

The first session took place in Bitiako, in the presence of customary authorities, landowners and women beneficiaries. After reading the minutes, discussions clarified the commitments set out in the documents. At the end of the discussions, the minutes were validated and signed by all stakeholders, formalizing the women’s secure access to the land concerned. In Souri, the same dynamic was observed. Customary authorities, landowners and members of women’s cooperatives met to read, validate and sign the minutes, in a spirit of dialogue and consensus.

For the beneficiary women, this formalization is a major step forward. ” Today, with these minutes signed, we are reassured and proud to know that we now have a piece of land that we can exploit in the long term with complete peace of mind “, confides Lougué Mariam, president of the Wolamba cooperative in Bitiako.

According to Ida Sandrine Drabo, Community Mobilization Officer at INADES-Formation Burkina, securing land tenure is a key issue. ” Women often had access to land, but it was generally degraded land that was often withdrawn after years of effort to restore it through agroecological practices. This situation severely limited their ability to produce sustainably and empower themselves. “she explains.

Customary authorities and landowners have welcomed the initiative, underlining its importance for social cohesion and local development. In Souri, landowner Boureima Kindo emphasizes the collective interest of the initiative: ” I chose to give women access to the land, because it will benefit both their families and the village as a whole. “

In both Bitiako and Souri, the signing of the land agreements had a social and customary value, as it brought together village chiefs and their ministers, land chiefs, development and land advisors, landowners and their witnesses, as well as women from the cooperatives. Beyond this traditional recognition, the signing of these formal deeds of gift marks a concrete step forward for the women. Now that they have secure access to land, they can better organize their farming activities, invest for the long term and improve their production, to the benefit of their families and the community as a whole.

Julio Yaméogo