Strengthening School Canteens in Burkina Faso

This project seeks to improve children’s nutrition particularly for girls in schools in seven northern regions of Burkina Faso (Boucle du Mouhoun Centre-Est Centre-Nord Est Nord Plateau Central and Sahel). The project aims to provide breakfast and lunch to children including displaced children through a triple nexus approach in 450 schools annually. The approach brings together food security education and economic growth. It also seeks to recognize the multifaceted barriers communities face particularly for women and girls affected by insecurity. Project activities include: (1) providing financial and technical support to local producers focusing on women. This is to increase local production capacities and individual skills; (2) providing training on climate-smart agricultural methods that promote better water and forest resources usage; (3) providing some communities with meals from the supported producers through an innovative approach ; (4) supporting local producers and creating linkages between them and school canteens to strengthen local supply chains and food security; and (5) providing equipment and training to school employees to improve the performance and sustainability of these canteens.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved ability of small agricultural producers animal breeders and processors especially women in supplying school canteens with local food products; and (2) improved nutritional status of students particularly girls through a local production and purchase-based school canteen program. The project seeks to reach 114 600 direct beneficiaries (47 500 girls and 47 500 boys) and 19 600 local producers community members and school workers (10 192 women).