Burkina Faso

Project: N’Gurdam Leydi

Category: Natural Resource Management

Where?

Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the south west. Its size is 274,000 km² with an estimated population of more than 13,200,000 and was formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè. Burkina Faso's capital is Ouagadougou.

Why?

The target area has been struck by frequent droughts and locust swarms, making for a fragile and difficult existence. Living conditions continue to worsen due to global warming, deforestation and the advance of the desert. Human development in the region is also the most fragile in the country, with low literacy and life expectancy. The Sahel, an extensive semi-arid region that spans several West African nations and forms a transition between the Sahara Desert and the lesser arid savanna belt to the south, encompasses a section of northern Burkina Faso, making it the least developed part of the country. An overwhelmingly rural area, the nomadic Fulani have traditionally used it as pastureland for their cattle. The increasing population pressure on the land has, however, resulted in the erosion of fertile land and the advance of the desert.

What?

The N’Gurdam Leydi Project, which means “protection of the earth” in the Fula language, is designed to counteract increasing desertification by improving water and soil conservation measures, in addition to soil fertility in the Sahel.

How?

The project will work with 6,000 farmers in 30 villages in the Province of Séno, in North Eastern Burkina Faso, near the towns of Bani and Gorgadji. Around 150 model farmers will be educated as local trainers, who will then teach others how to protect and manage their natural resources through methods like promoting hedgerows, naturally assisted regeneration and the cutting and conservation of animal fodder. Techniques to improve soil fertility such as scarifying the land, half-moons, stone cordon dykes, “zai” fertiliser holes, and the treatment of ravines will be applied to 3,700 acres (1,500 hectares) of degraded or unused land. This land will then be available for agriculture and pasture. In addition, ADRA will help build 450 compost pits, 370 acres (150 hectares) of land will be forested, and 6 small dams will be constructed for the animals to drink from. The project is also expected to develop a community approach to natural resource management by developing and implementing two communal environmental action plans, setting up 30 natural resource management committees at the village level and establishing and monitoring 20 local land-use plans.

Who?

The project is co-financed by the European Commission and ADRA-UK.

When?

The project started on the 1st of June 2009 and will end on the 1st of May 2012.