Validation workshop of Burkina Faso food loss assessments report

A validation workshop to share the results of a food loss assessment study and to collect feedback and comments by different stakeholders was held in Ouagadougou on 28 July 2016. The study was carried out by consultants and country team of the Rome-based UN agencies joint project in Burkina Faso.

The workshop objectives were: 1) to present the status of the post-harvest losses and the critical loss points along the sorghum, maize and cowpea selected supply chains in the target zones; 2) to define the quantities of post-harvest losses and their main causes; 3) to analyze appropriate measures and solutions for the reduction of these losses especially in terms of technical and economic feasibility; 4) to collect feedback and comments from local stakeholders to be included in the report; and, finally 5) to validate the draft report of the study.

Forty-three people from the different organizations and institutions such as Ministry of Agriculture, research and academic institutions, NGOs, the Swiss agency for international cooperation, producers organizations, CILSS, FAO, WFP, have participated (detailed list included here).

Mr Pascal ZONGO, Director General a.i. for vegetable production, representing the Secretary General of the Ministry of agriculture and hydric infrastructures, has communicated that “the report, which we are asked to examine and validate, it is very timely as it is useful to understand the levels of losses in the areas of the study and to define ways for their reduction. This assessment of losses on sorghum, maize and cowpea was possible thanks to the support of our partners”. He also said “reducing food losses in our country is an added value for the public investment and contribute to food security. This approach implemented by the UN system is a useful tool for strengthening food security governance and the realization of a concrete sustainable development”. He eventually declared “for the 2016/2017 agricultural season our country has set the objective of producing 4,700,000 tons of cereals. However, what would value the efforts and means employed by our good male and female farmers if no initiative aimed at reducing post-harvest losses is foreseen? It’s for this reason that I have chosen this occasion to re-ensure our technical and financial partners that our government will not save any effort for including this approach in the global political agriculture development strategy and dissemination through the usual channels of the agricultural production system (complete speech, in French, here).

Ms KOANDA Habibou, Swiss international cooperation agency/Burkina, Mr Pascal ZONGO, DG a.i. vegetable production, Ministry of Agriculture,  and Mr Daouda KONTONGOMDE, RBAs representative. Photo : ©Tapsoba Alizèta/FAO 

The assistant FAO Representative, on behalf of the three UN agencies involved in the project, has declared that “holding this workshop signs the end of a post-harvest loss assessment study along the sorghum, maize and cowpea chains. This assessment undertaken in three countries notably Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda on the priority chains chosen by the countries”.   Recognizing that the study allowed both to assess the post-harvest losses and to envisage the perspectives of the different actors along the relevant chains, he has reaffirmed “the involvement of the three agencies supporting the Government for the replication of this study in the same regions and in the same chains in order to best assess the post-harvest losses”. Closing his speech he has highlighted that “it is needed to also note that the dissemination of the tested technologies faced some socio-economic issues which need a further engagement and effort by the governments involved” (complete speech in French, here).

The report has been validated by the participants and in the next weeks the replication phase is going to start and will affect the 2016-2017 agricultural season. 

Photo : ©Tapsoba Alizèta/FAO