Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The project aims to consolidate and scale up within the cooperative UNERIZ the empowerment of women and young rice producers and parboilers by improving their income through increased marketing of parboiled rice produced in Burkina Faso.

Expected results

(i) Strengthened production, technical and financial capacities of four cooperatives of women rice parboilers;

(ii) Secured supply of paddy rice of sufficient quality and quantity to the parboiling centers; and

(iii) Strengthened marketing and visibility of parboiled rice in the major urban centers (Bobo, Banfora and Ouagadougou) to increase women's leadership and improve gender relations.

Target group / Beneficiaries

The project primarily targets women, young women and vulnerable girls, rice parboilers and rice producers:

- Women and young women rice parboilers who are members of cooperatives, individually and collectively, and who wish to become professional in their parboiling activities;

- Internally displaced women and girls living on rice production and processing sites;

- Other women in the implementation area who wish to develop initiatives in the rice sector as their economic activity.

A total of 2,597 direct beneficiaries in the three target regions of Cascades, Centre, and Hauts Bassins are comprised of:

- 1,482 women producers from four rice production cooperatives in the developed plains of Boulbi, Banzon and Douna and the Dandé lowlands.

- 1,115 women rice parboilers from four rice parboiling cooperatives on the Boulbi, Banzon and Douna improved plains and the Dandé lowlands.

Activities

1. Strengthening the technical, organizational and financial skills of eight cooperatives, including four rice producers and four rice parboilers;

2. The provision of processing and post-harvest equipment and storage infrastructure to improve the quality of rice and increase the storage capacity of beneficiary cooperatives;

3. The development and promotion of contract farming mechanisms between the actors in the rice value chain;

4. Promotion of parboiled rice to increase visibility and improve the marketing of rice from the centers;

5. Advocacy with political, administrative, customary and religious decision-makers so that they take into account the priorities of women and youth in their policies;

6. Radio programs and theater forums to strengthen the positioning, leadership, access and control of women and young women farmers over resources by acting on gender relations within households, organizations and communities through information and awareness-raising activities and workshops.

Context

Rice has become the main source of calories and food for households in Africa. In 2017, total milled rice production was 14.2 million tons while domestic demand was 23.5 million tons. In West Africa, local rice production still only covers 60% of current demand, and rice consumption will reach 24 million tons by 2025.

This production is far from satisfying needs, leading to a recourse to rice imports, which is depleting the countries' scarce foreign exchange reserves.

It is in this context that the West African States have launched the Rice Offensive. This initiative aims to achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2025, with the ambition of producing 24 million tons of milled rice for consumption in the sub-region.

Burkina Faso, like the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, has made rice a strategic priority sector, and rice today ranks third among cultivated cereals.