Bittou: Host populations and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the commune of Bittou launched an urgent appeal on Tuesday to the highest authorities for the dredging of the Bittou dam, built more than 40 years ago, in order to alleviate their suffering related to the drying up of this water reservoir essential for market gardening activities.

According to Burkina Information Agency, under a blazing sun, men and women, both host communities and IDPs, are busy around the market gardens. Equipped with watering cans, some try to irrigate their crops with the little water available, while others dig makeshift wells or set up generators to pump the last reserves from the dam.

Ramata Doumbodo, an internally displaced person from the village of Zambanega, emphasized that market gardening is an essential source of income for families. "We produce onions, tomatoes, and cabbage. These activities allow us to provide for our families, but the biggest challenge remains the drying up of the dam," she explained. She adds that digging wells is becoming the only alternative for watering crops, while calling for the dam to be dredged to reduce the suffering of producers.

The same heartfelt plea came from Guimbone, an internally displaced person from the commune of Bane, who stressed that market gardening represents an important source of income for many families and helps to keep IDPs usefully occupied. He, in turn, called on the authorities to act quickly to revive the Bittou dam and support the resilience of local populations.