(Ecofin Agency) - Yesterday 5 April 2018, the German NGO for development cooperation and emergency assistance, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe launched a land tenure project for small-scale farmers in Burkina Faso.

With a total cost of CFA180 million, this project known as Multi-Operators Partnership (MAP), is the result of a close collaboration between the country’s farmers confederation (CPF) and Deutsche Welthungerhilfe.

Via this project, the German NGO and CPF (made of 16 national farmers' organizations in the country) will advocate for the application of land regulations in Burkina Faso, and land tenure for rural farmers.

“Unsuitable and unsecured land rights increase vulnerability, hunger and poverty and can even lead to conflict and environmental degradation,” said Boureima Diallo, CPF’s vice president.

The official also lauded this project, in a context marked by land grabbing from small farmers. Jean Philippe Jarry, the NGO’s country director, for his part, said that “land tenure is a challenge that Burkina Faso must face”.

Since it was founded in 1962, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe has invested nearly €3 billion to develop about 8,000 development projects, in 70 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.