Pibse: On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, in Pibse, Baz¨ga Province (Nazinon Region), the Minister of Basic Education, Jacques Sosth¨ne Dingara, launched the harvesting of school fields and the start of activities in school gardens. The objective is to promote locally sourced food in schools throughout Burkina Faso.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the harvesting operations in the school fields and the start of gardening activities for the 2025-2026 school year have been officially launched at the Pibse public primary school, in the commune of Doulougou. The ceremony, presided over by the Minister of Basic Education, Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages (MEBAPLN), aimed to encourage the popularization of school fields and gardens in primary schools across the country.
Minister Jacques Sosth¨ne Dingara stated that the ceremony reflects the ministry's commitment to accelerating the implementation of ongoing educational reforms. These reforms include the development of locally sourced canteens through the creation of school fields and gardens. "By integrating sustainable agriculture and gardening into the heart of learning, we are preparing a generation aware that food sovereignty begins in our daily actions, in our schools, in our villages," the minister said.
The school in Pibse, which hosted the ceremony, cultivated three varieties of crops in its field: corn, soybeans, and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. On a total cultivated area of 0.57 hectares, the expected yields are estimated at 800 kg of corn, 125 kg of soybeans, and 200 kg of sweet potatoes. For the headmistress of the Pibse school, Eugenie Nacoulma, these results were made possible thanks to the dynamism of the teachers and students, as well as the involvement of the educational community and partners.
The harvests will not only be used to supply the school canteen, but also to strengthen the nutritional education of students. "We pledge to continue and amplify these efforts," she promised. The launch ceremony was marked by the harvesting of crops from the school field and the transplanting of certain vegetable plants, including lettuce, onion, and African eggplant, in the school garden.
Minister Dingara, accompanied by a delegation from his department, expressed his delight at the productions from the school's field and congratulated all those involved. He emphasized that these fields and gardens are not simply cultivated spaces. "They are living laboratories where knowledge, values and a culture of a job well done are transmitted," he noted.