Growing upstream: an approach for the ownership of school feeding by small-scale farmers in Burkina Faso

 

School feeding programs in Burkina Faso rely heavily on foods of low nutritional quality, most of which are imported. This has a negative impact on the quality of the meals served, while at the same time representing a missed opportunity to support local food system actors using sustainable and inclusive practices.

This participatory action-research project aims to pilot the implementation of new models of collaboration between school meal actors and local food system stakeholders, and to measure their effects on the adoption of sustainable practices, the quality of meals served to students, incomes, and the roles and power relations established between men, women and marginalized people. These models, called “rural multifunctional platforms,” will be piloted in three villages: Toécè, Sabou and Dano, covering contrasting agroecological zones.

The research project will first carry out a multidimensional analysis of the school meal supply systems currently in use in Burkina Faso, in order to identify their strengths and opportunities for improvement. The study will then pilot a series of integrated activities to be delivered through the rural multifunctional platforms by means of rigorous monitoring and evaluation incorporating a mixed and inclusive approach. Collaboration mechanisms will be implemented on a localized and adapted basis to ensure greater ownership by local stakeholders. Platform members will receive training in the use of various ecological and sustainable practices for food production, preservation, storage and cooking, as well as in the management and valorization of waste.

The level of effectiveness of the various activities will be measured in economic, environmental and social terms, with particular emphasis on their impact on women and internally displaced populations. The lessons and knowledge generated by the project will be mobilized to propose policy and practice recommendations that can positively influence sustainability, equity and inclusion within supply systems and bring impact to scale.

This project is part of a cohort of projects that aim to catalyze the adoption and scaling of regenerative, equitable and inclusive practices in school meal supply systems in Africa, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the agroecological transition of local and national food systems.