With hard work, rice and courage towards participatory food systems
Around 1,100 parboiled rice producers and 1,500 rice farmers in Burkina Faso are making an important contribution to improving the food situation in their region thanks to their participation in an LED project. The Liechtenstein Development Service (LED) has been supporting this forward-looking project, which also aims to improve the economic and political conditions for women in Burkina Faso, since April 2023.
LED project manager Marion Reichenbach met the parboiled rice producers in person during a project trip to Burkina Faso. In the interviews, the women talked about the challenges they face in their everyday lives and the opportunities and chances they have been given through this project. They reported on their multiple burdens as producers, business and family women and the disadvantages they face in their communities, where women are often held in low esteem. Together with the ADA (Austrian Development Agency) and the local partner organization UNERIZ (national umbrella organization of women parboilers in Burkina Faso), the LED can improve their situation with this project – because women who participate at eye level in an agricultural enterprise, e.g. as decision-makers in a cooperative, often receive more respect, as their income benefits the whole family and often also the communities and the entire region.
Technical and financial support required
After her visit to the parboiling centers around the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou, Marion Reichenbach summarized: “Without financial and technical support from outside, equal participation is difficult, especially because traditionally only men own land and tractors. The project gives the “parboilers” access to equipment and business management courses,” continued the LED project manager, “further training is key, because organizing parboiling production in such a way that their high-quality products achieve good market prices is a challenging task. The women make investments, buy large quantities of good quality paddy rice (raw rice) at a favorable market price and ensure that it is processed, packaged and stored properly. They are also responsible for sales and marketing.”
Good future prospects for parboiled rice producers
The 1,100 parboiled rice producers involved in the LED project obtain the paddy rice – the raw material for producing parboiled rice – from 1,500 rice farmers from four rice production cooperatives in neighboring areas. This results in a total of 2,600 direct beneficiaries for this LED project.
Parboiled rice (abbreviation for “partially boiled”) is considered a high-quality product and still contains around 80% of its natural minerals and vitamins thanks to the special production process. This makes it significantly healthier than conventionally hulled rice varieties. In a country with a critical food situation like Burkina Faso, demand for parboiled rice is on the rise.
Media contact: Alexandra Ospelt, Communication LED, +41 79 222 09 79 or +423 782 09 79
Click here for the article in the Liechtensteiner Vaterland from 16.10.2024
LED representative Marion Reichenbach with UNERIZ Secretary Alimatou Ouédraogo (far right) and other UNERIZ representatives. (Photo: Austrian Development Agency, ADA)
Media information on October 16, 2024
