Corn is not the solution to food sovereignty, says farmer

Ouagadougou: Farmer Saïdou Ouédraogo assured that Burkina Faso's food sovereignty requires crops such as sorghum and millet, on the contrary, according to him, corn which consumes more inputs and water. 'We were made to believe that our food sovereignty depends on corn and we have abandoned sorghum and millet,' farmer and breeder Saïdou Ouédraogo lamented yesterday Thursday. According to Mr. Ouédraogo, Western countries have started to focus on sorghum cultivation to cope with climate change. Unlike corn, 'sorghum requires less water and fewer inputs,' he assured. The Sissili producer spoke Thursday in Komsilga, during a panel on agroecology, organized on the sidelines of the International Agricultural and Livestock Show (SIAEL), in partnership with the Network of Peasant Organizations and West African Agricultural Producers (ROPPA). For Saïdou Ouédraogo, the West made African farmers believe that its farming practices were the best. He welcomed the return of the practice of agroecology to the habits of African producers. According to the sustainable development economist, Clémence Samba Lankoandé, agroecology is 'the golden method for healthily feeding populations', through the use of natural fertilizers in production and the fight against pests. The practice allows us to protect the soil in the long term and avoid food poisoning due to pesticides and chemical fertilizers. However, during the first years of using organic manure, the producer will see his production drop before an increase in the following years. This is why Ms. Lompo calls for supporting producers during the 'agroecological transition' phase, through the financing of related activities to make up for these temporary declines. For the Malian rice producer, Farilou Boly, agroecology makes it possible to achieve food security while ensuring the health security of consumers. Chemical inputs deteriorate the soil and cause diseases, but it is not a question of abandoning them completely, but of knowing how to 'dose' them in order to be able to bequeath cultivable land to the future generation, explained Mr. Boly Source: Burkina Information Agency