Established in 1970 and developed in 2006 at a cost of 720 million CFA francs by the Burkinabè government, with financing from Swiss Cooperation, the Fada N’Gourma livestock market is one of the largest commercial crossroads for livestock. the West African sub-region. The economic lung of the Eastern region, it attracts, every Sunday, thousands of sellers and buyers from Burkina, but also from neighboring countries. In addition to being a source of jobs and income for the population, this atypical market also generates revenue for the municipality. Immersion in this resilient “shopping center” despite the difficult security context.
Sunday April 21, 2024. We are at the Fada N’Gourma livestock market, located at the eastern exit of the city, on national road no. 4, Fada-Kantchari road. It’s 5:30 a.m. The market doors are still closed. But already at the motorcycle parking lot, the number of machines suggests that this day is special. The entrance gates to the large ruminant, donkey and small ruminant parks are teeming with animals. Bleating and mooing mingle with the incessant roar of trucks arriving at the parking area. The herdsmen, equipped with sticks, keep the animals calm. “The sticks they hold cost 1,000 CFA francs,” our guide, Aboubakar Combary, tells us.
Arrested around the herds with ropes, children, aged between 12 and over, monitor the movement of the animals. The majority of them are out of school due to terrorism. “Most are internally displaced children. They wait for an animal to escape to catch it. If they succeed, the owner pays them 5,000 CFA francs,” says Mr. Combary. While waiting for the market to open, a donkey leaves the group and takes the key to the fields. A child, who was obviously just waiting for such an opportunity, sets off in pursuit. A few minutes later, the animal was caught and subdued, not without difficulty. ” This is just the beginning. When the animals come out, the spectacle is astonishing,” says our guide. Not far from there, despite the clouds of dust that invade the place with the arrival of animals and trucks, a restaurant “on the ground” has just been set up. Customers, adults and young people, “cheerfully” eat their breakfast. “Here, we don’t talk about hygiene, as long as the stomach is full,” we want to say. About 40 meters from the famous restaurant, a group of animals are drinking. “With water cuts that can often last up to a week, watering animals is the major concern for animal owners here,” explains Aboubakar Combary. However, the solution is found by other market players. Conveyed in 20 liter cans, the precious liquid is sold between 100 and 200 CFA francs per can.
“Even with taxes…”
It’s 6:00 a.m. The doors to the “livestock mall” are opening! The animals begin their entry into the market. As if they knew the fate reserved for them, some are less cooperative. They are dragged inside by force. In such a mess, there is no shortage of unscrupulous people. “I came with someone because we were informed of the presence of stolen animals in the market,” explained a police lieutenant who thought he was speaking to a member of the market management committee. At 8:30 a.m., the agents responsible for the transactions set up. The market finally opens to the public. Inside reigns cacophony. Difficult to make your way through. Buyers and brokers (person responsible for facilitating the sale) talk. “In this market, to be able to sell easily, you have to go through these brokers,” murmurs the market manager, Koudrègma Birba. The heat is oppressive at the start of the day. The sellers of water, energy drinks and juices of all kinds sneak between the animals. ” Attention. Here you are not safe from a paw or a horn,” warns our photographer, Issa Compaoré. In this atmosphere, everyone intends to do good business on this day. Coming from Bobo-Dioulasso, Souleymane Traoré finds that animals are bought less expensively compared to the town of Sya. “I am used to paying between 20 and 40 head of oxen at a cost of between 150,000 and 200,000 CFA francs, and even with taxes and transport costs, we manage to make a profit,” admits -he. On the other hand, his colleague Eliasse Bonkoungou, who came from Ouagadougou, has a different story. “We are used to going to several markets, notably Dori, Kaya, Djibo, Yamba, etc., but with the security situation, only the Fada N’Gourma and Pouytenga markets are still functional. Which means prices have gone up. When I come, I often buy 10 to 20 heads. But so far, I have only been able to pay for two,” he laments.
Mandatory documents
Yaya Diallo is an animal exporter to Ivory Coast. It transports at least thirty animals per market to the Houphouët-Boigny region. For him, from the price of animals to that of products and livestock feed, everything has increased. “We pay 400,000 CFA francs for animals. To transport them to their destination, we have to buy food for the road, pay municipal taxes and transport costs which sometimes amount to 350,000 CFA francs per truck. In the end, when we arrive in Ivory Coast, we can no longer gain much,” confides Mr. Diallo. Unlike the latter, Oumarou Sana, buyer-seller, finds that the prices are affordable. “I was able to buy more than twenty heads of small ruminants to send to Benin. But between now and closing, I’ll see if I can find others,” he maintains. Animal exporter to Ghana, Kassoum Sawadogo has still not been able to obtain small ruminants as the market closing time approaches.
“We are going to go to the Pouytenga market to see if we will find anything,” he consoles himself. In this livestock market, the prevailing disorder suggests that nothing is structured. And yet, even if entry to the market area is free, sellers and buyers must pay taxes before leaving. Amadou Akolado Maïga is a town hall collector, broker and president of the General Federation of Livestock Markets in the Eastern Region, member of the Barké association. He inherited this job from his father in the 78s. According to him, two documents are mandatory to exit the market. “When you buy an animal, you need a purchase certificate which lets you know in which market you bought it and who sold it to you. So, if someone comes to report that this animal is stolen, we call on the seller to manage the dispute. This document costs 1,000 CFA francs,” explains Mr. Maïga. The second document relates to other taxes. “At the level of large ruminants to obtain the document, the buyer must pay 2,600 F CFA, or 1,500 F CFA for the town hall including the parking tax (1,000 F/head) and the certificate of origin (500 F ). 500 F/head goes to the management committee and the Barké association earns 100 F,” he emphasizes.
Brokers’ income
In addition to these taxes, the seller and the buyer must pay the sum of 2,000 CFA francs as brokerage fees. “As a broker, this amount is ours by right. At the peak of the market, we could have more than 100,000 CFA francs per market. But today, our revenues have declined. We often find ourselves with less than 50,000 CFA francs,” confides Kaldou Dicko, collector at the market despite his advanced age (at least 75 years old). He specifies that this sum is divided into three. That is 45% for him, 45% for the brokers and 10% for the agent responsible for drawing up the certificate who is also his son. In the small ruminant box, except for the prices, the principles are the same. “We have around a hundred collectors who draw up certificates in the market. In each book, there are 50 certificates, therefore 10,000 CFA francs per book. When they manage to sell everything, the collector receives 2,000 F CFA, his boss takes 4,000 F CFA and the association 4,000 F CFA,” relates the vice-president of the Souglimani association in charge of managing the box. small ruminants, Kadré Maïga. Here too, the buyer and the seller must, in addition to the 2,000 F CFA, each pay 300 F CFA, or 600 F CFA as tax to the municipality. For some stakeholders, these taxes weigh heavily on the price of animals.
“Before, the municipality’s revenue from the market was insignificant. 150 F CFA per head in the cattle and donkey boxes and 80 F CFA in the small ruminant box,” informs us, the revenue manager of the commune of Fada N’Gourma, Dieudonné Ouoba. Thus, to breathe new life into the municipal budget, the special delegation, upon its installation on June 29, 2022, at its first extraordinary session held on October 18, 2023, adopted a deliberation establishing various taxes at the Fada N’ livestock market. Gourma for the benefit of the municipal budget. “With the new decision, in cattle and donkey boxes, we receive 500 CFA francs/head. As for small ruminants, the municipality collects 200 CFA francs/head,” mentions Mr. Ouoba. This revision is appreciated positively by certain stakeholders who think that if it can help the municipality to develop, they are ready to do so. “If what we pay is used wisely for the good of the municipality, we are ready to pay,” agrees Eliasse Bonkoungou. Today, this market generates at least 4 million CFA francs in the sale of large and small ruminants per market day, for the benefit of the local budget, according to Mr. Ouoba. As for the donkeys, the municipality earns around 250,000 CFA francs from each market. “We receive 25 CFA francs/head of poultry sold. But until then, we have not been able to capitalize on this contribution,” points out the manager.
“If we detect an outbreak…”
In the Eastern region, insecurity is mainly marked by the eviction of populations from their localities and the theft of livestock. To ensure that the livestock market does not serve as a place to conceal stolen animals, measures are taken at all levels, particularly at the level of veterinary services. Therefore, to bring an animal to the market, the owner must have a certificate of origin and a zoosanitary pass. According to the head of the veterinary station of Fada N’Gourma, Adjaratou Sankara, these documents make it possible to certify the origin of the animals and their state of health. “But there are smart people who do not want to take the zoo-sanitary pass which costs only 1,000 FCFA and which at the same time entitles them to the certificate of origin from the town hall,” deplores Ms. Sankara. Present at each market, she comes to ensure that the animals that are parked are in good health. “If we detect an outbreak, we are forced to close the market. This is why, the day before, we inspect the animals already parked and on the day of the market as well, to ensure that everything is in compliance for their admission to the market,” reveals Ms. Sankara.
76,928 heads sold in the 1st quarter of 2024
Despite this situation of insecurity in the region, the past quarter saw a clear increase in the number of animals sold in the market. 76,928 heads, all species combined in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 32,009 heads in 2023, according to the site manager, Koudrègma Birba. For him, this is due not only to the closure of other markets in the area, but also to the measures put in place to counter terrorism.
“Livestock cannot leave the area without documentation. So a lot of compliance goes through our market. Which suddenly increased its attendance,” argues Mr. Birba. First in the sub-region in terms of infrastructure modernization, attendance and number of animals, the market still experiences some difficulties linked to infrastructure maintenance, lack of sanitary facilities and underexploitation. . “Market management is not maximized because there are no secondary markets. Between two Sundays, we could have had other activities by creating another meeting for other products,” regrets Koudrègma Birba. But in the meantime, it’s 11:30 a.m., while the sun is almost at its zenith. A few large trucks parked around the market welcome their first passengers. Weakened animals are forcibly dragged into trucks by able-bodied young people. This hectic day over (editor’s note, the market closes at 12:00 p.m.), time to review the recipes on both sides, and an appointment is made for next Sunday for another day of the market.
Donald Wendpouiré NIKIEMA