Agricultural investment policies and trends in Burkina Faso

This chapter examines the evolution of agricultural investment flows and the impact of agricultural policy changes on such flows. Public spending in the agricultural sector averaged 11.43% of the national budget over the period 1995- 2008. The Maputo commitment made at the NEPAD summit to allocate at least 10% of the national budget to agriculture within five years appears to have been met. Nevertheless, the sector suffers from chronic under-investment, with the majority of available resources concentrated in the cotton sector. Private investment remains limited and difficult to quantify. This chapter highlights the impact of under-investment on the sector’s performance. The productivity per agricultural worker is at a virtual standstill and remains highly dependent on weather. Following a good performance in 2008 boosted by favourable weather conditions and a proactive policy to assist producers, the sector experienced a slowdown in 2009 with the cereal harvest declining by 10%, mainly owing to poor rainfall distribution and flooding in September 2009.