When I went around to the villages in the 70’ies and 80’ies, often in October or November, I often had an opportunity to taste many a good meal of string beans seasoned with karité butter. These beans, grown in Burkina and more widely in Africa,  are called « niébé ». But the plant has an enemy, a predator called the pea-beetle, or Bruchus.  At the time the farmers did not know how to fight it. Therefore they rapidly sold their beans, just after the harvest, when prices were at their lowest.  If not, they knew the beans would come under attack,  no longer be edible and therefore not sold. Today the situation is quite different.

Yesterday I once again had a dish of beans of last year’s harvest here in Burkina, in September or October 2008 . They were very good, since the farmers have now learnt how to preserve them and  no longer fear the pea-beetle, which used to destroy their crops.

There are various preservation techniques for niébé. Before storage, they should be dried in the heat of the sun, which will drive the beetles away. Then the beans should be put in an airtight container. The pea-beetle can not survive in a lack of oxygen, and is even less able to proliferate.

Today there are custom made bags on the m   arket for this purpose. They consist of three layers. The external part is just an ordinary  bag, made of plastic fibre. Inside there are two transparent plastic bags, which are airtight. Once they have be   en sealed, no air can enter. After the harvest, the farmer puts the beans in the first (inner) bag, making sure that as little air as possible remains inside. He then puts it in the second bag, which merely serves as additional  protection and finally into the outer bag, which will ensure that the contents are not damaged or the packaging ripped open. These three layer bags makes storage a lot easier and safer for  farmers.

The picture below was taken at the Gouran market in August this year and is evidence of the fact that the farmers already have adopted the new packaging material, which came on the market in Burkina recently. During the rainy season beans can be  marketed at three times the price offered in the harvesting months (in October and November). This means additional income for the farmers, who no longer have to sell out their fresh produce. Therefore the rural savings banks, Caisses d’Epargne et de Crédit, now have a vital part to play for better management of both harvests and farmers’ income. Little by little farmers will be able to distance themselves from the dominance of traders.

This is an example of a simple idea that works and enhances the lives of  farmers.

 Koudougou, September 5th
Maurice Oudet
Director, SEDELAN