FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 28.

This policy brief analyses some of the key agricultural public expenditure programs in Burkina Faso. It makes recommendations on levels and policy mixes that, based on the analysis, have the potential to accelerate agricultural transformation, as well as improve the income situation of the agricultural households.

The brief highlights that a progressive increase of expenditures in agriculture to meet the Maputo target of 10 percent spending by 2025, combined with a balanced public investment strategy, has the highest potential to boost agricultural transformation and rural income. Such an investment strategy encompasses spending on millet, sorghum, beans and sesame production with rural infrastructure expenditures (mainly extension services and mechanisation). Among the outcomes of the brief, the analysis found that yields of maize could increase by 30 percent and rice by 40 percent.