The economy in Burkina Faso, traditionally dominated by agriculture and livestock farming, employs nearly 90 % of the manpower. However, this agriculture, livestock farming and husbandry are reliant to poor rainfall. Therefore, output can vary from one year to another. .
Agriculture
A large part of the 3.7 hectares cultivated land is devoted to growing grain, sorghum and early millet. The annual cereal production totals some 1.5 millions tons and crops take up 85 % of cultivated land in the country. Other staple crops include maize (300.000 to 400,000 tons/year, groundnut 150,000 tons/year, cassava, yam, rice 130,000 tons/year.
Some subsistence crops are exported such as cashew nut, shea nut and butter, sesame seed, groundnut, hibiscus flower. But the main export product is cotton whereof production has reached the peak of 700,000 tons in 2005, shifting Burkina Faso to first cotton producer in sub Saharan Africa. Over the years, the exports of cotton have been the main source of foreign earning for the Burkinabè balance of payment, ahead of the income from livestock sector.
Fruits and vegetables
Other cash crops include fruits and vegetables. The following are grown mostly in dry seasons in urban suburbs which weights more than 10 %, in the making of the Gross Domestic Product: green beans, tomatoes, mangoes, peppers. This sector has been restructured and a new company (SOBFEL) set up to boost the export of fruits and vegetables.
Livestock farming
The livestock and husbandry sector generates sub products such as skin and leather, horn, milk, eggs, etc. With 25 % of the overall exports, it is the second source of income after cotton. To make this sector more competitive, a new slaughter house has been built matching with international requirements and standards. |
