The Société des mines de Sanbrado (SOMISA) presented to the seed producers of Sanbrado, a check worth 9 million 700 thousand FCFA, on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Sanbrado, in the province of Ganzourgou.
Five seed producers received from the Société des mines de Sanbrado (SOMISA) on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Sanbrado, in the province of Ganzourgou (Central Plateau) a check worth 9 million 700 thousand CFA francs representing the price of sale of their seed crops from the 2022 crop year.
This ceremony aims to buy certified seeds from the five producers to distribute them to all 178 agro-pastoralists affected by the Sanbrado gold project.
This purchase for a total amount of 9 million 700 thousand CFA Francs was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Agricultural Services Company (ESA) which purchased 11.95 tons of certified corn seeds of the SR21 and 8 varieties, 2 tonnes of Soubatimi variety sorghum seeds
It was during a sober ceremony chaired by the second vice-president of the special delegation of the municipality of Boudry, Gueswendé Blaise Soudré, in the presence of agro-pastoralists from the villages impacted by the Sanbrado gold project.
According to the representative of the Société des mines de Sanbrado (SOMISA), Hugues Kambiré, this action is the culmination of a long process.
Mr. Kambiré explained that SOMISA is concerned about the well-being of the farmers impacted by the works of the mine, it is that it has implemented a program of restoration of the means of subsistence for the benefit of these producers.
It is in this context that it undertook to train and support farmers for the production of seeds of improved varieties in order to buy them back to distribute to other producers to promote the improvement of agricultural production.
Thus, in 2021, SOMISA trained 28 producers in the production of improved seeds. During the 2022 agricultural campaign, 14 producers among the 28 trained decided to start the activity, but from the first inspection of the seed plots, 7 plots were accepted and 7 others refused.
The 7 producers selected benefited from the support of SOMISA, through seed allocation, ploughing, fertilizer allocation, monitoring by agricultural agents and inspection by seed inspectors.
Still according to Mr. Kambiré, after the first stage of production and inspection of seed plots, several other stages followed, including that of taking and analyzing production samples, carried out by the National Seed Laboratory.
According to him, this phase of laboratory analysis certified the seeds of 5 seed producers in compliance with seed production standards and two producers saw their seeds rejected for germination problem.
Through this ceremony, the representative of SOMISA Hugues Kambiré expressed his gratitude to all the actors who worked for the success of the project.
He then invited the seed producers benefiting from the project to keep the momentum in order to boost agricultural productivity to adapt to climate change and ensure food security.
For the second vice-president of the special delegation of the commune of Boudry, Gueswendé Blaise Soudré, SOMISA has made a very commendable gesture towards seed producers, because according to him, many producers have benefited from this initiative.
He pleaded for the increase in the number of seed producers to impact the entire municipality of Boudry. Mr. Soudré thanked SOMISA and encouraged producers to invest more in the coming seasons.
The secretary general of the “Namalgbzanga” seed producers’ cooperative, Adama Benoit Ouédraogo, was delighted with the training on seed production and all the support they received during the past agricultural campaign.
He, on behalf of all the seed producers, thanked SOMISA, the agricultural agents and the seed inspectors for the support. Mr. Ouédraogo translated their joy at receiving the check and said he was ready to continue in seed production.
Source: Burkina Information Agency