On December 04, 2024, Inades-Formation Burkina organized a ceremony to hand over equipment and animals to vulnerable households in the North and Central Plateau regions of Burkina Faso. The event took place in Mako, a village in the Gourcy commune in the North region. It is part of Inades-Formation Burkina’s “Social construction of demand” approach.
Meet on the village square
Amado TALL is a 48-year-old farmer in the village of Mako, married with seven children. On the morning of December 04, 2024, he came to the village square in response to the delegate’s call. He was told that Inades-Formation Burkina would be coming to the village today to provide equipment and animals to households including his own. He knows Inades-Formation Burkina. This organization has been supporting his household in the intensification of agroecological practices for almost a year.
Like Amado, almost two hundred (200) people – women, men and children – are present in the shade of the neem trees near the Centre de Santé et de Promotion Sociale (CSPS) in the village of Mako. They are here, some to receive their gifts, others just to witness the event.
At around 10:45 a.m., we hear the roar of a truck on the main road leading into the village. It’s the equipment arriving. Once the truck is parked, the young people on site get busy unloading. Wheelbarrows, shovels, picks, drums, etc. are all on the truck. As soon as this equipment was ready, another truck entered the village. The truck was carrying goats and billy goats. In the same scenario, the youngsters mobilized to get the animals off the truck and transported them to a fenced enclosure set up for the occasion.
Ceremonial handover of equipment and animals
Once the equipment and animals are in place, the presentation ceremony can begin. Participants are seated in a circle. One of INADES-Formation Burkina’s local animators, Boureima OUÉDRAOGO, sets the tone, outlining the purpose of the day’s meeting and giving the floor to the Director of INADES-Formation Burkina, Isidore DELLA. The latter explained the NGO’s work in promoting agroecology, and called on the beneficiaries of the equipment and animals to make good use of them. Two representatives of the households present on site are called upon to speak. Our farmer Amado TALL is one of them, and he expresses his gratitude to Inades-Formation Burkina for having enabled them to discover, practice and benefit from agroecology.
After the introductory words, it was time for the handover action. The equipment and animals were handed over in symbolic succession to representatives of two villages. In all, five villages were concerned by this endowment. In the Nord region, these included Mako and Kagapessogo in the Gourcy commune, and Kié in the Samba commune. In the Central Plateau region: Sandogo in the commune of Boussé, Kinana in the commune of Toéghin. A total of 300 goats, including 200 goats and 100 billy goats, were handed over to 100 vulnerable households chosen by the communities benefiting from the initiative. “I’m very happy at the idea of being able to increase my production of organic manure thanks to these animals that I’ve just received,” confided Sawadogo Hawa.
Support for agroecological practices
This support from Inades-Formation Burkina is part of a drive to help rural households make the most of agro-ecology. The animal manure received is to be put to good use in the production of bio-inputs to enrich the soil and improve crop yields. This reduces farmers’ dependence on synthetic chemical inputs. Inades-Formation Burkina had previously organized training courses for households in this area.
This family unit support activity is part of the “Social construction of demand” approach currently being tested by Inades-Formation Burkina with technical and financial support from the Belgian NGO Broederlijk Delen.
Patrice DA
