Burkina Faso in local language means the land of the upright and honest people, and both English and France call its residents as Burkinabe. As an interior country in West Africa, Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 80 percent of population mainly engages in agro-pastoral, the country's primary industry. Therefore, as a driver of economic growth, the agricultural promotion has become the priority policy of the country. In September 2014, JIRCAS hosted a symposium “Research for Agricultural Development in Burkina Faso with Japan”, which gathered many agricultural researchers acting in Burkina Faso. During this symposium, JIRCAS and Institut National de l’Environnement et de la Recherche Agricole (INERA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to aim at further research cooperation. On the other hand, JIRCAS will start new five-year research projects from April 2016. In order to collect information for these projects, an investigation on implementing experiment site was performed. Through the dedicated explanation from the researchers who are active in Burkina Faso, courtesy call on the relevant organizations and investigation of location conditions, it is understood that soil deterioration is one of the factors that inhibits the improvement of country’s agricultural productivity. Hence, sustainable and intensive management of water and soil resources is re-recognized as an effective way. If we start from the existing research results, deepen them and develop comprehensive measures for soil erosion prevention in basin level across multiple divisions, it will be considered to greatly contribute to JIRCAS mission on world food problems and environmental issues while helping the agricultural development of Burkina Faso. The experience of this field investigation provided an active support to make our research in Burkina Faso to be able to become one of new projects. The time of our activities in the “land of the upright and honest people” at the beginning of rainy season was short, but we still obtained many opportunities to communicate with Burkinabe about weeding, burning, plowing and seeding. For those Burkinabe that we met, although we could not understand their language, their hard work and hospitality are unforgettable, and they are all kind of people.

JIRCAS Africa Liaison Office