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U.S. Government Recommits To Improving Incomes and Nutrition for Burkina Faso’s Most Vulnerable

The five-year, USAID-funded Activity will be implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Feed the Future-funded USAID Yidgiri Activity aimed at increasing the resilience of agricultural and livestock market systems in Burkina Faso. The five-year Activity will cultivate relationships among farmers, producer organizations, and agribusinesses to provide markets with greater capacity to adapt to challenges such as droughts, floods, and economic and security crises and help ensure populations have uninterrupted access to enough food.

Yidgiri, which means “grow” in the Mòoré language, reflects the Activity’s goal to increase household incomes and improve nutrition.

The USAID Yidgiri Activity begins after the completion of the USAID-funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) activity, also implemented by CNFA, an international agricultural development organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.

“CNFA has worked in Burkina Faso since 2015 to support the development of sustainable and dynamic market systems that positively impact communities across the Sahel,” said CNFA President and CEO Sylvain Roy. “We now look forward to building on and continuing the success of REGIS-AG through the Yidgiri Activity.”

The Activity will:

• Enhance the performance of market systems in the cowpea, small ruminants, and poultry value chains by facilitating commercial relationships between producers and buyers, improving the functionality and profitability of livestock markets, and building the organizational capacity of market actors to grow sustainably;
• Increase the use of quality inputs and services by working with private and public sector actors to reduce costs, improve the quality, and educate farmers on the most efficient and effective use for their farming operations. Key inputs and services to be targeted include livestock feed, livestock breeds, cowpea seed and storage methods, veterinary services, financial services, and climate and market information; and
• Increase local consumption of nutritious, safe, and affordable foods by promoting consumer demand for these products through campaigns and other activities and supporting market actors to steadily supply safe and nutritious food that is accessible to rural and vulnerable populations, especially women and youth.

Over the course of five years, the $19.5 million USAID Yidgiri Activity aims to improve incomes for 85,000 farmers, increase farmer and producer organization sales by $75 million, and enhance the organizational and risk-management capacity of at least 650 producer organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises in Burkina Faso.

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About CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments, and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 46 countries around the world.