Embassy of the United States

Burkina Faso and Millennium Challenge Corporation
Building a Partnership for Poverty Reduction through Economic Growth

The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Board of Directors has approved a five-year, $480.94 million compact with the Government of Burkina Faso aimed at reducing poverty and increasing economic growth. Specifically, the compact will increase investment in land and rural productivity through improved land tenure security and land management; increase the volume and value of agricultural production through investments in water management and irrigation, technical assistance to farmers, and rural credit; increase opportunities for farmers to sell agricultural goods and livestock by rehabilitating rural and primary roads; and, as an extension of Burkina Faso’s successful MCC threshold program, fund the construction of three classrooms each at 132 "girl-friendly" schools for grades 4 through 6.

Background
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in Africa’s Sahel region with a population of over 15 million. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 176 out of 177 countries as surveyed by the United Nations Development Program’s 2007 Human Development Index. In an effort to address constraints to investment, Burkina Faso has undertaken several broad macroeconomic reforms since the mid-1990s, including market-oriented reforms, decentralization of power from the central government to local governments, adoption of a new labor code and business climate improvements. In light of these efforts, in 2007, the International Finance Corporation named Burkina Faso one of the top business climate reformers in Africa. Despite these reforms and recognitions, Burkina Faso continues to face severe constraints to growth and poverty reduction.

Rural Land Governance Project ($59.93 million)
The rural land governance project will increase investment in land and rural productivity through improved land tenure security and land management. Specifically, the project will assist the Government of Burkina Faso to achieve its goal of a new rural land tenure framework by improving access to formal land use rights and promoting sustainable management of land resources. The project consists of the following three activities:

• Legal and Procedural Change and Communication to support the Government of Burkina Faso’s efforts to develop and implement improved rural land legislation and other legal and procedural frameworks;

• Institutional development and capacity building to improve institutional capacity and deliver land services in rural areas; and

• Site-Specific Land Tenure Interventions to ensure that the preceding two activities yield their intended benefits across municipalities and in targeted agricultural development zones.

Agriculture Development Project ($141.91 million)
The agriculture development project will expand the productive use of land and increase the volume and value of agricultural production. The project seeks to improve poor water resource availability and management, weak beneficiary capacity and access to markets, pricing information and credit. The project consists of the following three activities:

• Water Management and Irrigation to ensure adequate water availability, water delivery, flood control and dam safety to support investments in the Sourou Valley and improve water resource management in the Comoé Basin;
• Diversified Agriculture to build on the delivery of water by supporting on-farm production and related activities throughout the agricultural value chain; and

• Access to Rural Finance to increase medium- and long-term credit in the four western regions of Sud-Ouest, Hauts Bassins, Cascades, and Boucle du Mouhoun.
Roads Project ($194.13 million)The roads project will facilitate trade and communications with regional and international markets, improve lo­cal connectivity of farms to markets and improve access to social services in rural communities through strategic improvements to the road transportation network. The project will increase access to agricultural markets by upgrading primary and rural road segments serving the Sourou Valley and the Comoé Basin, reducing travel time to markets and vehicle operating costs. The project will also ensure the sustainability of the road network by strengthening road maintenance. The project consists of the following four activities: • Development of Primary Roads to support the improvements of three primary road segments in western Burkina Faso;

• Development of Rural Roads• to support the improvement of approximately 151 kilometers of road seg­ments located in three rural areas in the Comoé Basin of southwestern Burkina Faso;

• Capacity Building and Technical Assistance • to reinforce the effectiveness of existing government agen­cies and private sector institutions involved in road maintenance planning and implementation; and

• Incentive Matching Fund for Periodic Road Maintenance to set the government on a path toward long-term, sustainable funding of maintenance on the full road network in Burkina Faso.

Millennium Challenge Corporation 3 Fact Sheet: Burkina Faso Compact Approval, June 17, 2008

 

For more information on how MCC is working together with Burkina Faso to reduce poverty through economic growth, including past press releases and web-based resources, please visit: http://www.mcc.gov/countries/burkinafaso/index.php.

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Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a United States government corporation designed to work with developing countries, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.