Literally, "Burkina" translates into "men of integrity," from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "father's house" in Djoula. Burkina Faso can be translated into "the land of men of integrity" ( en français... "pays de hommes intègres").
Burkina Faso is located in West Africa, and its capital is Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso is divided into 13 regions, 45 provinces, and 301 departments.
Burkina Faso gained its independence from France in 1960, and was called the Republic of Upper Volta, but this was changed to Burkina Faso on August 4th, 1984, by President Thomas Sankara.
What languages are spoken in Burkina?
The main languages in Burkina are Mòoré and Djoula, as well as French which is the official language, however there are very many dialects spoken throughout the various regions in Burkina.
What's the currency?
The currency here is the West African CFA franc. If you're curious to know what that looks like, 1 Canadian Dollar (CAD) = roughly 420 CFA francs (XOF). CFA stands for 'Communauté financière d'Afrique' ("Financial Community of Africa").
The CFA franc is the common currency of 14 countries in West and Central Africa, 12 of which are former French colonies. The purchasing power in each of these countries varies according the the strength of each of their respective economies. The CFA franc is pegged to the Euro, meaning that it has a fixed exchange rate with the Euro.
What is the climate like?
Burkina Faso has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons: the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season lasts approximately four months, May/June to September, and is shorter in the north of the country.
Burkina is located between the Sahara desert in the north, and the coastal regions in the south.
A little bit about Agricultural Structures in Burkina... (this is related to the work that I'll be doing...)
In 1991 the IMF (International Monetary Fund) introduced a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in Burkina. SAPs were programs targetted at reducing poverty through macro-economic solutions. It's important to note that they were highly unsuccessful in most countries. The SAP introduced in 1991 asked for:
- Burkina to devaluate its currency, which would in theory increase its exports
- Burkina to liberalize its markets
- AND... the government had to dissengage itself from its agricultural sector
This last point plays a large role in what the agricultural sector in Burkina looks like today, as this gave rise to Federations, which fulfill a role similar to that of a Ministry of Agriculture, only that they are non-government organizations.
There are several Federations in Burkina, these operate at a national level. One of the largest federations in Burkina is called the FEPA-B (Fédération des Producteurs Agricoles du Burkina), and is the federation I am working with. At a regional, provincial, and departmental level, the FEPA-B is broken up into Unions. I am working at the departmental level mostly.
Thanks for this post. It's interesting to see an overview of Burkina and to see how the SAP affected it's agrictulure. From what you've seen so far how have the federations been doing at filling the gap left after the SAP? How is their relationship with government agencies? Is the government still disengaged from the agricultural sector? Do you know what Burkinabe think of the SAP? What other sectors were affected either dierctly or indirectly? It's pretty awesome that you get the chance to be there and explore these questions with people who are living through the effects instead of just reading about it (not that there's loads to read about Burkina).
ReplyDeleteI hope you're learning and growing loads. I'm excited for the next update.
I love you!
Elisa
I love you too, Lui!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, your work sounds really interesting... keep the updates coming!
I'm also interested to know your impressions of having non-governmental organizations taking charge of the agricultural sector. Are they competing for projects, and if so, how's the compitition affecting what actually gets done?
Your experience in Burkina is an amazing example of how only a fraction of real education is gained in the classroom. You're making alot of people proud.
Dario
Nice post - West African CFA franc Currency ..Keep Posting
ReplyDeleteJack
West African CFA franc Currency
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Nice post - Central African CFA franc Currency ..Keep Posting
ReplyDeleteJack
Central African CFA franc Currency
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