Land in Burkina: COFRL/B equips 40 women with advocacy techniques

The Consortium of Rural Women Leaders' Organizations of Burkina (COFRL/B) has organized a training for 40 rural women leaders and association managers on the procedures for obtaining rural land ownership certificates (APFR) and advocacy techniques. It opened this Monday, November 21, 2022, in Ouagadougou.

The aim was to promote land tenure security for rural women in Burkina Faso through their involvement in the implementation of land reform. The expected results of this training are: that participants from all regions of Burkina Faso are trained on the procedures for acquiring APFR and that they are trained on advocacy techniques. This training is part of the project to support rural women's land tenure security in Burkina Faso and their contribution to the prevention and management of land conflicts.

This project was born from an observation: in Burkina Faso, there is a low rate of access to land among women. And yet, they constitute 52% of the population. Also, they have a considerable contribution to the national agricultural production. It is with this in mind that COFRL/B was created. This umbrella organization brings together 27 associations, networks, unions, federations and coalitions in all regions of Burkina Faso.

"Rural women are involved in agricultural production, processing and marketing. They face difficulties in accessing and securing land. Among the conflicts that currently plague our country, there is a large place for land conflicts at the community level. These land conflicts represent a heavy responsibility for rural women. That is why we are thinking about changing things. We want to work on the prevention and management in the resolution of these crises," said the president of COFRL/B, Rahamata Laetitia Koudougou.

Towards secure access to land for rural women

Salimata Zoma was one of the beneficiaries of this capacity building. For her, this training is timely. "As a foreigner on the husband's side, it is difficult to have secure access to land. We have portions of land, but they are not secured. We are fighting to secure our land so that we can have peace of mind and produce in large quantities. This will contribute to food sovereignty in Burkina Faso. Once the woman has her land, she will be able to invest better so that the land is rich because apparently, poor land is given to women," she said.

In this quest to promote land security for rural women, the coalition was supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. This support has been translated into training at the national and sub-regional levels. The national coordinator of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Dr. Dramani Ouédraogo, was pleased that "the consortium can become autonomous. This consortium is sufficiently equipped today to carry out this fight which is the defense of land rights of rural women", he said. He announced that the foundation is setting up a legal clinic for the consortium. This training will end on November 22, 2022.

Source: lefaso.net/