Burkina Faso farmers growing pineapples amid push for self-sufficiency

Part of a wider push for the country to rid itself of external dependence, pineapples are one of many ways food has turned political–authorities have boasted about Burkina’s increased tomato paste production, and banned rice imports in April this year with a stated goal of facilitating local production Compaoré pivoted to growing pineapples during COVID-19." Pineapples have become a symbol of sovereignty in Burkina Faso: they are grown inside a military base in Ouagadougou, and part of the country’s formal development plan as it seeks to boost food self-sufficiency."If you're going back as far as Thomas Sankara, who had been the president between ‘83 and ‘87, he was really big on not just receiving food aid because there was a drought at the time when he was in power, but also ensuring that people are able to cultivate their own lands," she says.