News

Through the scaling-up of technology and innovation for the resilience of production systems and family farms in West and Central Africa (TARSPro) project and the iREACH(Innovation Research, Extension and Advisory Coordination Hub) project, CORAF supports the establishment of agricultural technology parks in several countries.

On October 28, 2022, the Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherche Agricole (INERA), in charge of implementing the two projects in Burkina Faso, organized the First Open Day of the Agricultural Technology and Innovation Park set up at the Farako Bâ station (city of Bobo Dioulasso). The event brought together various categories of stakeholders: administrative, political and customary authorities, TARSPro project beneficiaries, researchers, the private sector, farmers' organizations, universities and agricultural schools, and extension structures.

It's the first time we've managed to deploy so many technologies in a single space, and the first time we've managed to mobilize so many people with an interest in these technologies. The TARSPro project beneficiaries from the innovation platforms are very satisfied", explained Dr Vianney TARPAGA, researcher at INERA and focal point of the TARSPro project in Burkina Faso.

The technologies and innovations on display in this new park are aimed primarily at 5 specific sectors: cassava, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, mango, livestock & meat and milk.

Producers and other players in the agricultural sector have welcomed the technology park with enthusiasm, demonstrating its validity. We don't have to farm large areas any more, we have to work on improving our yields. And it's only technology and good farming practices that can enable us to really improve our yields and make a living from our activity" Gérard SANOU, cassava producer and president of the innovation platform "la filière manioc les hauts-bassins" in Burkina Faso.

Also in Mali, the Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER) organized the first Technology Park Open Day on October 25, 2022 in Sotuba.

In the same vein, Benin, Niger and Chad, countries also targeted by the TARSPro project, will also be holding their first open days for their agricultural technology parks, financed under the aforementioned CORAF initiatives.