Work to rehabilitate and modernise the Bama irrigation scheme was officially launched on Friday 11 April 2025. The work is part of the Burkina Faso component of the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP-BF), and is aimed at boosting agricultural production in this strategic area in the long term.
The aim is to completely rehabilitate 1,260 hectares of rice fields and 70 hectares of market garden areas by levelling the land to ensure better gravity-fed water distribution throughout the area. This rehabilitation represents an overall investment estimated at more than 15 billion CFA francs, mobilised with the direct involvement of the Minister of State, who gave instructions in October 2023 to make this project a priority.
According to the stakeholders and beneficiaries, the groundbreaking ceremony marks the culmination of a long process of discussion and consultation with local producers.
Sanou Soumana, President of the Bama rice cooperatives Union (UCRB), expressed the enthusiasm of the producers: "This is a project we've been waiting for years. We will finally be able to produce three times a year on all 1,260 hectares, which will considerably increase the production of rice and wheat to feed the people of Burkina Faso".
Once the work is complete, the entire area will be usable all year round. The introduction of modern cultivation methods, more suitable varieties and appropriate fertilisers is also planned, to improve productivity and harvest quality in the long term.
This initiative is also part of a wider plan to develop 10,000 hectares of irrigated areas with full water control and 30,000 hectares of lowlands by the end of 2025.
For the FSRP-BF, this launch represents a decisive step towards national food security and local economic development in the region. The 1,085 producers in Bama are now preparing to significantly increase rice production in Burkina Faso.
