• Government sets 2025/26 wheat output target at 6,000 tonnes, more than double last year’s harvest.

• Production area rose tenfold in 2024/25 to 1,342 hectares, with a 5,000-hectare seed program launched.

• Burkina Faso still imports 193,000 tonnes annually, showing how far it must go to cut dependence.

Since 2023, Burkina Faso has been among the few West African countries pursuing a large-scale wheat production strategy. Still at an early stage, the sector is now seeking to boost its performance.

For the 2025/2026 season, the country has set a target of 6,000 tonnes of wheat, more than double the 2,597 tonnes harvested the previous year, according to a press release issued on August 19 by the Ministry of Agriculture.

To reach this goal, authorities plan to provide farmers with certified seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, and modern irrigation and harvesting equipment. Training and technical support will also be reinforced to promote best practices in wheat farming. Although no budget details were disclosed, officials believe that these measures, if properly implemented, will consolidate the progress made since the launch of the national wheat revival plan in 2023.

In the 2024/2025 campaign, Burkina Faso allocated 1,342 hectares to cereal cultivation, a tenfold increase compared to the 125 hectares cultivated the year before. To sustain this progress, authorities also launched a 5,000-hectare wheat seed production program.

The government’s strategy aims to reduce the country’s strong reliance on imports. Between 2019 and 2023, Burkina Faso imported an annual average of 193,000 tonnes of wheat, costing nearly CFA42.5 billion FCFA (about $75 million), according to the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD). Although the expected rise in local output for 2025/2026 reflects the state’s determination to build a new agricultural industry, it will still meet only a small share of national demand, highlighting the scale of the challenge for wheat to become a genuine tool of food sovereignty.

Stéphanas Assocle