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Burkina Faso experiences low and variable rainfalls, land degradation, deforestation and desertification. Despite the harsh climate, Burkina Faso’s agriculture sector continues to generate roughly a third of the country’s GDP and employ 80 percent of the population. Agriculture production is generally characterized by low crop and livestock productivity and mainly supports subsistence livelihoods. Regional trade is essential to economic growth; however, Burkina Faso remains extremely vulnerable to external—specifically regional—trade shocks. While improvements in the agriculture sector have greatly reduced the threat of recurring famine, the food security situation in Burkina Faso remains a reoccurring challenge. More than 3.5 million people, roughly 20 percent of the population, are food insecure and approximately 50 percent of rural households are not able to produce sufficient quantities of food to sustain their caloric intake.
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Date
Monday, January 11, 2016 - 11:15am
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