World Bank Approves Almost $94 Million For Rural Sustainable Development In West Africa

Burkina Faso, West Africa. Photo courtesy of kinderpate.at/blog.

Where fertile land and clean water are scarce resources, the World Bank has approved $93.41 million to support the West African country of Burkina Faso in its rural development efforts and sustainable land and forestry management programs.

While the country might not be familiar to most people, it’s landlocked inside six neighboring countries that we do know well, which are: Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.

Map of Burkina Faso. Image courtesy of aobf.solidairesdumonde.org.

Madani M. Tall, World Bank County Director for Burkina Faso said that “the funds provided will benefit 13 regional communities, reaching over 302 rural communities and encourage participatory local development.”

Explaining the current conditions in the region, Emmanuel Nikiema, World Bank Task Team Leader, said, “Significant flooding followed by localized drought in recent years has negatively affected the agricultural harvest, leaving people with little affordable food to eat.”

Nikiema continued that the approved funds “will provide new farming technologies to increase crop productivity and generate income for the poorest in the country.”

Included in the funding will be training and technical assistance to local governments for creating and managing development plans, and for implementing the recently enacted rural land tenure reform law.

The funds will also encourage environmentally sustainable agriculture practices in the PONASI ecological complex (covering the protected areas Po, Nazinga, and Sissili) and support local and regional micro-projects such as drinking wells, schools, health centers, and other infrastructures.

This Burkina Faso financing package will include a $70 million grant from the International Development Association, a $7.41 million grant from the Global Environmental Facility Trust Fund, $8 million from the Burkina government, and $8 million invested from beneficiaries.

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