On Friday, June 02, 2023, the HAFAAC oil mill in Africa, located in the Bama road industrial zone in Bobo-Dioulasso, hosted the ceremony of handing over equipment to oil mills and companies in the solar field. The donation is made by the West Africa Competitiveness Support Program – Burkina Faso component (PACAO-BF).
Set up 4 years ago, PACAO-BF is financed by the European Union to the tune of 4.5 billion FCFA with a 500 million FCFA contribution from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso (CCI-BF ) which ensures its implementation. Three sectors, namely, oil mills and cotton derivatives, solar services and honey and derivatives benefit from its support. The donation of June 2 is made for the benefit of oil mills and solar players.
“With a total value of 1,146,803,694 FCFA, this intervention (the donation: editor’s note) includes equipment such as 50 oil presses, boilers, personal protective equipment, tanks, electrical equipment and tools, solar sizing software, computer hardware and other technical support consisting of diagnostics, management training and technical training,” according to Diego Escalona Paturel, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation in Burkina Faso.
In his message delivered by Assétou Djibo, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bobo-Dioulasso, Al Hassane Siénou did not fail to express “my sincere gratitude to the European Union… for the trust placed in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso, entrusting it with this major mission”. He testifies that“6 months from the official end of PACAO-BF, its achievements in the three target sectors are visible”.
He notes, among other things, the training of 651 players in the oil industry and 1,142 in the solar sector; diagnosis and upgrading of 40 oil mills and 20 solar companies; the subsidy of oil mills for the acquisition of new packaging and kits for determining the vitamin A content; the completion of 08 studies on the oil sector; the structuring of the solar sector and the formation of the interprofessional organization and cluster; the creation of 3 solar project incubators.
For the benefit of the honey sector, there was, among other things, support for the restructuring of the honey inter-profession; the subsidy for the construction and equipment of 10 modern honey mills; providing 200 beekeepers with beekeeping equipment; equipment for a honey analysis laboratory.
In his turn, Serge Gnaniodem Poda, Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, Handicrafts and Small and Medium Enterprises and President of the donation ceremony, expressed “all the attention that the government pays to the very appreciable contribution of the European Union to the socio-economic development actions of our country. In four years of implementation, PACAO-BF has achieved highly appreciated results in the cottonseed oil, honey and domestic solar services value chains”.
Aly Konate
