Burkina Faso’s agricultural heritage now has a vault worthy of its value. With the National Bank of Plant Genetic Resources (BNGP), inaugurated at Thomas Sankara University in Ouagadougou, the country has acquired a strategic tool to sustainably preserve the seeds that have fed its people for generations.
First advantage: safeguarding agricultural biodiversity. Local varieties of cereals and legumes adapted to the Sahelian climate, threatened by genetic erosion and climate hazards, will all be able to be collected, processed, and stored according to rigorous international standards.
The infrastructure includes a processing center, a packaging unit, drying chambers, and high-technology cold rooms.
Second advantage: food security. In a country where agriculture employs more than 80% of the active population and accounts for about 30% of GDP, having quality seeds in sufficient quantities and on a sustainable basis is a national imperative.
In the face of climate disruption, the bank also constitutes a valuable genetic reservoir for selecting varieties that are more resistant to drought and disease.
Third advantage: sovereignty. For the Minister of Research and Innovation, Prof. Adjima Thiombiano, this achievement embodies the sovereignty vision of the President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Unique in its kind in the sub-region, the BNGP allows the country to control the conservation of its own heritage instead of entrusting it to foreign structures.
The government has also launched a call for the repatriation of national plant genetic resources held abroad.
Fourth advantage: strengthening research. Located at the heart of a university, the bank offers researchers, students, and breeders first-rate working material to improve local varieties and develop seeds adapted to local realities.
This achievement also reflects a willingness to invest in the long term: as early as 2024, the state had mobilized more than 565 million CFA francs for the construction and equipment of this facility.
By protecting its seeds, Burkina Faso is protecting its future and that of its farmers. The BNGP is not merely a scientific infrastructure: it is the guarantee that future generations will inherit a preserved and intact agricultural heritage, and that the country’s food sovereignty will rest on roots that no one can tear away.
