From: wsargeant@IGC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Burkino Faso, villagers see a better
Date: 9 Apr 92 14:57:38 GMT

/* Written  6:25 am  Apr  9, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "BURKINA FASO: VILLAGERS SEE A BETTE" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Agriculture
Title: BURKINA FASO: VILLAGERS SEE A BETTER FUTURE IN DAIRY FARMING


an inter press service feature

by debra anthony

bama, burkina faso, apr 6 (ips) -- fifty-three-year-old sangare
issa points proudly to his hay shed.

''that is the best thing to have happened to cattle
rearing'', he said.

issa and the 47 other men in his village, who are involved in
a dairy project supported by the u.n. food and agriculture
organisation (fao), profess themselves satisfied with this
innovation in livestock rearing.

''we never had anything like this before. during the dry
season, the cows became thin from lack of grass and gave little
or no milk. now with this hay, we can feed our cattle during the
dry season and they will give us milk'', he said.

in this village, about 300 km southwest of the capital,
ouagadougou, 33 families depend on cattle rearing for a living.
the dry season in this sahelian country lasts eight months of
the year.

for this reason issa and his colleagues, who formed
themselves into a livestock group, took advantage of an fao
offer to help them get the most out of their profession by
becoming involved in the dairy project.

according to renato nardello, a milk production specialist
who works with the programme, the project buys the milk from the
grazers, processes it and markets it as pasteurised milk,
yoghurt and cream.

''the aim really was to improve the traditional way of
producing milk as well as to get better quality milk on the
local market'', he says.

for these aims, nardello and the country's project director,
zakaria sorgho, had to change several traditional habits.

''first'', says sorgho, ''we had to get them to stop using
calabashes to collect the milk. the texture is not good and
there are too many tiny holes in which germs can collect''.

the men now use plastic containers when milking. they also
have a new type of fodder for their cattle. the project sells
them cotton meal and wheat bran to give the animals extra
protein, and deducts the cost of the feed from the milk it
buys from them. (more/ips)


burkina faso: villagers (2)

a regular veterinary service has been introduced with a
preventative treatment calendar set up for the animals.

issa, who has two wives and 14 children, says the project has
made a big difference in his life. now that the villagers no
longer have to wander far afield searching for good grass for
the cattle they can plant other crops. they are producing
millet, sorghum and corn.

they are pleased too with the quantity of milk they can now
harvest.

''before, we could hardly get one litre of milk from one cow.
now with the feed and the hay we can get almost two litres from
each cow every day'', says issa, the head of the livestock
group.

in addition to the increased milk production, the villagers
now get a better price for their milk. previously the women
would take the product and sell it on the open market. now the
project takes the milk at a guaranteed price.

''in february this year we earned about 2.5 million cfa francs
from selling the milk products. one and a half million cfa
francs was paid to the milk producers'', says nardello. (one
u.s. dollar is equal to 270 cfa francs).

the additional income has been welcomed by the grazers and
the milk products sell well in and around bobo dioulasso, 31
kms south of bama and once the capital of burkina faso.

''in february we made 100,000 cfa francs profit and we expect
that to increase'', nardello continues. ''it just shows that we
can actually run a milk processing plant like this in a
profitable way''.

much of the profit earned from this pilot project is going
into a reserve investment fund to meet the future needs of the
producers.

''we want to develop a credit fund and construct wells for
them so that the cattle will have fodder as well as sufficient
water during the long dry season'', the milk production
specialist says.

the men of bama are all in favour of this idea.

''this will help us get more out of our cattle and improve
our life. that is what we want'', adds issa.
(end/ips/da/ar/apc/92)