admin | August 28, 2025
News Brief
In Burkina Faso’s drylands, farmers are using clean energy to transform agriculture beyond the rainy season. In Zoungou, solar pumps keep onion fields green year-round. Cooperative leader Alhaji Birba Issa says, “This land used to sleep during the dry season. Now, we farm all year.” Across the country, biodigesters, solar irrigation, and energy-efficient tools are helping farmers—especially women and youth—earn more, feed families, and protect forests. As Aminata Zangré explains: “Before, we farmed for three months. Now we plan for eight. It’s like turning waste into hope.”
In the drylands of Burkina Faso, farming usually ends with the rainy season. But in Zoungou village, green onion fields stretch across the landscape, watered by solar-powered pumps.
Alhaji Birba Issa is an onion farmer who leads a local cooperative. He says: “This land used to sleep during the dry season. Our diesel pump would break down. Crops died. But now, we farm all year.”
Mr. Issa is part of a group using renewable energy technologies to transform agriculture in drought-prone regions of Burkina Faso. With solar irrigation, biodigesters, and energy-efficient processing tools, small-scale farmers—especially women and youth—are finding new ways to feed their families, earn income, and protect the environment.
Across the country, most farmers depend on rainfall. But climate change has made the rains less reliable. Farmers are experimenting with new solutions that allow them to keep farming even during the dry months. In Komki Ipala, solar irrigation now reaches more than 100 hectares of farmland. Farmers grow vegetables, rice, legumes, and onions throughout the year.
Aminata Zangré is a cooperative leader in Zoungou. She explains, “Before, we farmed for only three months. Now we plan for eight. My children eat better. We sell the surplus. And we even use cow dung to generate energy. It’s like turning waste into hope.”
Her cooperative uses biodigesters to turn livestock manure into cooking gas and compost for their fields. This reduces the need for firewood and creates a cycle that is good for both farmers and the environment.
In Gon-Boussougou, Molle Nossira supervises a women’s fish processing group. In the past, much of their fish spoiled in the heat and smoke from wood fires made the work difficult. She says, “Now we use energy-efficient ovens and solar cold rooms. The fish stays fresh, we sell at better prices, and we even sell cold drinks—which attracts more customers.”
These changes are not only improving food security, but also increasing income. Farmers say they are earning at least 50,000 CFA francs (about 80 US dollars) more each year.
In Koulpelé, Awa Convolbo leads a cooperative that processes shea butter. She says, “We used to work entirely with firewood, which was exhausting and harmful. Now we use improved cookstoves and solar-powered water pumps. Our income has grown, and I’ve been able to support my children’s education.” For Ms. Convolbo, clean energy also changed leadership. After joining a knowledge exchange visit to Rwanda, she returned home with new ideas on how to manage her group’s finances. She says, “Clean energy didn’t just change how we cook—it changed how we lead.”
Young people are also finding new opportunities. They help maintain solar systems, manage cooperative finances, and use digital tools for farm planning. Field coordinator Farid Sawadogo explains, “Young people now see farming and energy as a future. They are staying in their villages, building careers, and bringing new ideas.”
The shift to clean energy is also protecting the environment. Farmers say they are saving hundreds of tonnes of firewood each year, reducing deforestation, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
But for farmers like Mr. Issa, the most important changes are felt in daily life: children returning to school, women leading cooperatives, and families eating better. He says, “We’ve turned drylands into green fields. And we farm with dignity.”
Photo: A farmer pours cow dung into the biodigester to be converted into energy. Credit: Robert Kibet/IPS
This story is based on an article written by Robert Kibet for Interpress News Service, titled “From Drylands to Dignity: How Solar Energy and Climate-Smart Farming Are Empowering Communities in Burkina Faso” To read the full story, go to: https://www.ipsnews.net/2025/07/from-drylands-to-dignity-how-solar-energy-and-climate-smart-farming-are-empowering-communities-in-burkina-faso/