Impact of the Security Situation on Cereal Production in Burkina Faso : The Case of Sourou Province (Burkina Faso)

Abstract

Agriculture is the main socio-economic activity of the population in Sahelian countries. However, agricultural production conditions do not provide assurance, as farmers are regularly faced with an upsurge in natural adverse weather conditions, which are manifestations of the effects of climatic variability and soil poverty. In Burkina Faso, these constraints on agricultural production are exacerbated by the security situation, with repeated attacks in farming areas causing farmers to abandon their fields. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of the security situation on cereal production in Sourou province. The methodological approach is based on documentary research, and the collection and analysis of quantitative data on the areas of fields sown and on cereal production in tonnes from the 2005-2006 agricultural season to the 2020-2021 season. The results of the analyses show that field areas and cereal production in tonnes fell sharply together during the 2014-2015 crop year, corresponding to the start of the security crisis in Burkina Faso. From 2015 to the present day, Sourou province has counted almost 5,000 displaced people living in 46 villages in the communes of Toéni, Gomboro, Toughan, Di and Komboro. All these people have fled attacks by unidentified individuals, forcing them to abandon their villages and fields. As a result, there is a correlation between the fall in the area sown and the fall in cereal production.