From 25 to 28 May 2023, the Institut de l'environnement et de recherches agricoles (INERA) organised the fourteenth edition of the Foire aux semences améliorées de plantes in Ouagadougou, under the theme "Contribution des résultats de la recherche agricole à la résilience des populations et à l'employabilité des jeunes et des femmes: cas des semences améliorées dans le contexte de crises sécuritaires et alimentaires".
The poor use of seed research results is not conducive to better agricultural yields. To remedy this situation, INERA organises an annual fair to promote improved seeds and innovative agricultural production technologies and systems. According to Dr Hamidou Traoré, Director of INERA, "supplying producers with improved seeds, in quantity and quality, can be a solution to the fight against food insecurity and contribute to wealth creation, while empowering more young people and women in agriculture". It is this objective and the worrying security and food situation in the Sahel, and in Burkina Faso in particular, that have motivated the choice of theme for the 2023 fair," he added.
He added that "for the 2023-2024 wet season, 2,166 tonnes mineral fertiliser, 1,582 tonnes of seed of improved varieties, 358 tonnes of fodder seed, 305 units of motorised equipment and 2,500 tonnes animal feed will be made available to producers at subsidised prices".
The 2023 edition of the Fair for Improved Plant Seeds was marked by information, communication and awareness-raising ; technical capacity-building activities for users of research products; and the sale of basic seeds and seedlings produced by the Institute for the Environment and Agricultural Research. A number of seed growers and agricultural producers from the 13 regions of Burkina Faso took part in the event.
This activity took place as part of the implementation of the West African food system resilience programme in Burkina Faso, for which INERA is the national specialisation centre on fruit and vegetables (CNS-FL). The CNS-FL is working, among other things, to promote research and the dissemination of quality seeds, through the seed fair, which brings research results closer to the people and helps to disseminate them.
