WEGOUBRI, the Sahelian bocage Integrating environmental conservation into the sahelian agriculture in Burkina Faso.

Concept note

Henri GIRARD, President of TERRE VERTE/GREEN EARTH, April 2024

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Summary :

The action of the NGO TERRE VERTE (Green Earth) in Burkina Faso is to create bocage

landscapes. Those are called wégoubri in Moore, a local language. This new rural

development concept was first and successfully developed in the 90s, at the pilot farm of

Guiè, and has since been replicated in the pilot farms of Filly, Goema and Barga.

The degradation of the Sahel1

environment has dramatically escalated during the last decades,

endangering rural populations. In addition, damages caused by the on-going traditional

practice of extensive agriculture have worsened the matter. Creating bocage landscapes in

rural areas helps solve the problem.

Using a holistic approach that encompasses applied research, training and direct support to the

farmers, the pilot farm succeeds in integrating environmental conservation principles in

agricultural methods. Six technical teams supervised by a director run the pilot farm. It is the

kingpin that helps the farmer implement the bocage concept.

The concept is based on the creation of bocage areas in co-ownership, including individual

and common plots. Its management is organized through a land beneficiaries’ group. The

result is a fully restored environment where agriculture is no longer synonymous with erosion,

where cattle breeding is no longer synonymous with overgrazing, and where trees and shrubs

are harmoniously integrated in the environment.

The increase in agricultural yields obtained after only a few years of soil restoration

demonstrates the economic viability of the concept. It is the only solution to restore millions

of deteriorated hectares of land across the Sahel.