'International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)'
Abstract
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa covering about
274,000 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Republic of Mali on the
north and west; by Cote d’Ivoire on the Southwest; by Ghana, Togo, and
Benin on the South; and by Niger on the east. The country has a dry tropical
climate with two contrasting seasons. The rainy season generally lasts from
May to October, but its duration decreases progressively from the southwest,
amounting to only three months in the northern part of the country.
Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)
and 60 percent of the total exports of Burkina Faso. Its cropped area is 3.5–
4.0 million hectares, representing about 13 percent of the country’s total area
and one-third of the arable land. Rainfed agriculture dominates, with largely
rudimentary agricultural techniques prevailing among small-scale farmers.
Crop production is more diversified in the Sudanian zone (in the southwest),
with a variety of roots and tubers (yams, sweet potatoes, and cocoyams), fruits
(mangoes, bananas, and citrus fruits), cashews, and sugarcane. The major cash
crops are cotton, groundnuts, cowpeas, and sesame..