Following his return home from a recent official visit to Burkina Faso, Luxembourg's Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Romain Schneider, and SOS Faim, represented by its President Félix Büchler, both signed an agreement for the “Dispositif innovant de financement de l’agriculture familiale au Burkina Faso et au Mali - Agri+” (“Innovative Device financing of family farming in Burkina Faso and Mali - Agri+”) project on Thursday 3 March 2016.
The Agri+ project will last 7 years, from 2016 to 2022, and will have a total budget of €7 million, financed by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. By signing this mandate, Minister Schneider has entrusted the execution of this project, whose design was made in close collaboration with the Directorate of Cooperation and the Luxembourg embassies in both countries, to the SOS Faim NGO.
The mandate was created to enforce contributions to the transformation and modernisation of farms in targeted areas in Mali (West Africa) and Burkina Faso (West Africa) through the implementation of two financing tools (guarantee funds and credit lines) and a training programme. This strategy not only facilitates access of family farms and organisations of farmers to agricultural finance, but also offers them medium and long term financing products tailored to their needs.
The training cycle proposed by Agri+ aims to strengthen the capacity of agricultural financing in producer organisations. These courses, combined with the creation of multi-stakeholder dialogue on thematic areas, foster necessary trust between microfinance institutions, banks and their customers, which is essential for sustainable agricultural investments.
In Mali the Agri+ project is part of the third Indicative Cooperation Programme (2015-2019) and is complementary with the actions of LuxDev, the International Labour Office (ILO) and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which are the other actors with funding from the ministry in the field of rural development, which constitutes the backbone of the new PIC III.
In Burkina Faso there are plans to include the same mandate in the next Indicative Cooperation Programme (2017-2021) and discussions in this regard are ongoing with all parties concerned.
Minister Schneider recently paid a visit to Burkina Faso - from 29 February to 1 March 2016. He was received by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Burkina Faso, who presented him with the programme of the new government, before meeting jointly with Prime Minister Paul Thieba and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alpha Barry, to review bilateral relations between Burkina Faso and Luxembourg.
In a meeting with Sory Alizatou Rosine Coulibaly, Minister of Economy, Finance and Development, they discussed the measures of identification for the new Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP) 2017-2021. This will range in continuation of cooperation activities for the component of vocational training and include innovations through a range of of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The Burkina Faso Minister stressed that as President of the troika of technical and financial partners of Burkina Faso, Luxembourg has a special role to play in supporting the authorities in preparing the next national programme of economic and social development (2016-2020).
A meeting with Salifou Diallo, President of the National Assembly, was an opportunity to revisit the transitional period leading Burkina Faso from the popular insurrection of October 2014 to the presidential and legislative elections of 29 November 2015.
The second part of Minister Schneider’s visit concerned the achievements of visits financed by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation. In the presence of the Minister of Health of Burkina Faso, Minister Schneider inaugurated the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (CRTS) in Ouagadougou. This ceremony was the final point of Luxembourg support that has lasted fifteen years and took place in three phases of successive projects to support, in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Centre and the Ministry of Health, contributing to the geographical extension of the system, a better structure and better access of the population to blood transfusion.
In Koudougou, capital of the Central West region, Minister Schneider was received by the governor of the region before visiting two projects (beekeeping, dolo production) implemented through an investment fund for the environment under the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment of Burkina Faso. This action is part of Luxembourg's support for the sustainable management of natural resources in Burkina Faso.
To conclude his trip in Koudougou, the Minister visited the construction site of a reception centre for 120 vulnerable children implemented by the Luxembourg " Le Soleil dans la main ASBL" NGO which received co-financing from the Ministry of Luxembourg Foreign and European Affairs.
In total 15 approved Luxembourg NGOs are active in Burkina Faso.
At a reception attended by members of the Burkina Faso government, Minister Schneider presented Christel Damiba with the insignia of the “l’ordre de la Couronne de chêne”, in recognition of its Honorary Board of services since 2004.
