DAIRY FACTORIES OPENING ACROSS BURKINA FASO

In the heart of West Africa, a revolution is underway. Watch this powerful clip from Ghanaian YouTuber Wode Maya (@mrghanababy on IG), who recently visited Burkina Faso to document the country’s bold steps toward sovereignty, starting with cow's milk.

On 27 March, Burkina Faso inaugurated the first state-owned Faso Kosam-branded dairy factory in the capital of Ouagadougou. Then, on 18 May, Burkina Faso opened another Faso Kosam dairy factory in the city of Fada N'Gourma. The government also plans to open three more in the municipalities of Bobo Dioulasso, Koubri and Dori. The facilities would allow Burkina Faso to produce yoghurt, butter, cheese and powdered milk.

‘Only 2 per cent of national milk production is currently collected and processed, while almost 12 billion CFA francs [$20 million] are spent each year on importing dairy products,’ Alain Sawadogo, Faso Kosam’s director, told Libreinfo.

The Faso Kosam project aligns with Burkina Faso's objective of food sovereignty and industrialisation, which President Ibrahim Traoré has promoted. On 20 February, Burkina Faso also inaugurated a flour mill called the Moulin Double Star in the town of Gampèla, on the outskirts of Ouagadougou. Furthermore, on 16 December 2024, Traoré inaugurated the second SOFATO tomato paste factory in the northern Yako department. The first factory launched on 30 November in Bobo Dioulasso, the country’s second-largest city, located in the southwest.

These new factories aim to transform how Burkinabé people consume food, reducing dependence on exports by relying on what farmers and workers can produce domestically. Former revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara (1949-87), famously stated, ‘Where is imperialism? Look at your plates when you eat. The imported grains of rice, corn, and millet – that is imperialism. Let's not look any further.’ He championed the message: ‘Produce what you consume and consume what you produce.’

Today, Traoré seems to have not only taken Sankara's message to heart. He's implementing it.

Video credit: @mrghanababy (IG)