Sourgou: Despite significant economic potential, market gardeners in the commune of Sourgou, in the Boulkiemd© province, are struggling to overcome enormous challenges. AIB reports from the field.
According to Burkina Information Agency, between lack of water and lack of equipment, a field visit made it possible to measure the extent of the obstacles which weaken market gardening in Sourgou.
As key players in the province's economy, the farmers of Sourgou struggle to cultivate their land effectively. The primary obstacle is financial: without access to credit, purchasing inputs, quality seeds, and maintaining their plots becomes an unaffordable luxury.
On a practical level, the situation is just as bleak. The lack of motor pumps and modern irrigation systems forces market gardeners into exhausting manual labor for yields that are often unpredictable.
The case of Yacouba Kabor©, an onion and tomato farmer, perfectly illustrates this daily struggle. Although grateful for his harvests, he points to problematic water management: 'We were asked to move away from the banks of the dam. Since then, irrigation has become a nightmare. I had to dig a well myself, but I couldn't go deep enough to get a sufficient water flow.'
Like him, a veteran of the profession, practicing market gardening for decades, is launching an appeal for help. According to him, discouragement is spreading: lacking support, many able-bodied people are abandoning the land for unemployment, unable to make ends meet.
Faced with this precarious land and technical situation, the market gardeners of Sourgou are appealing to the government and development partners. Their needs are clear and can be summarized as follows: efficient hydraulic infrastructure to channel water from the dams; technical and material support (motor pumps, pipes, agricultural kits); and easier access to financing to modernize their farms.
Supporting market gardening in Sourgou not only secures rural employment, but also guarantees the food resilience of an entire community that is eager to produce more.