SITARAIL (African Rail Transport Company), a subsidiary of the AGL Group (Africa Global Logistics), has operated the railway network linking Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso since 1995. Nadège Diarra, Sales Director of SITARAIL, specifies in this interview, the major role of rail in supplying Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso with agropastoral products and agricultural inputs, and its economic and social impact in West Africa.
L’Economiste du Faso: SITARAIL participated, from September 29 to October 8, 2023, in the International Exhibition of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SARA), in Abidjan. What are the challenges of this participation?
Nadège Diarra, Sales Director of SITARAIL : As the company that manages the railway line between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, SITARAIL plays an essential role in supplying both countries with agropastoral inputs and products. It is with this in mind that SITARAIL is participating in SARA 2023, alongside other subsidiaries of the AGL Group, in Ivory Coast. With more than 300,000 actors from the agricultural sector from 30 nationalities present, the event offered us an ideal setting to promote our know-how and our contribution to the development of the agricultural sector, which brings wealth to our States. Our presence is also justified by our desire to participate in debates linked to the sustainability of agriculture and agricultural supply chains, but also to open up more, to create and strengthen efficient regional and international partnerships with agricultural stakeholders on the continent.
What is the contribution of rail to the development of the agricultural and pastoral sector between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso?
Rail is an essential link in the development of the agropastoral sector, in the sense that it connects the rural and peasant world, the production zone par excellence, to the various markets, thus facilitating the flow of agricultural products and the delivery of inputs.
As an illustration, in 2021, SITARAIL transported, from Burkina Faso to Ivory Coast, 80,118 tonnes of agropastoral products and 77,003 tonnes in the opposite direction.
In 2022, there will be 91,139 tonnes of agricultural products and inputs, mainly composed of rice, wheat, cotton, cashew nuts, sesame, shea, soya, tiger nuts, hibiscus, livestock and fertilizers. , which were transported from Ivory Coast to Burkina Faso, and nearly 60,000 tonnes in the opposite direction. In total, more than 370,000 tonnes of agropastoral products and agricultural inputs have been transported by rail between our two countries, from 2021 to today.
Beyond agriculture, what contribution does rail make to the economy of Burkina Faso?
Due to its specificity, SITARAIL occupies an important place in the economic life of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and the hinterland, in particular, through its role in the supply chain and its impact on the performance of logistics platforms multimodal, namely the dry ports of Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou, as well as the maritime terminals of Abidjan. This direct interconnection constitutes a real opportunity for import-export players and economic operators in Burkina Faso.
SITARAIL transports on average 1,000,000 tonnes of freight per year, or almost half of the commercial flows on the Ouagadougou–Abidjan corridor. Its route, in the countryside, facilitates the sale of local products from several isolated areas, thus contributing to the development of local economies. 30% of hydrocarbon supplies and 50% of container traffic to Burkina Faso are provided by SITARAIL.
Through specific branches, the company serves around fifteen industrial companies in Burkina Faso, making the railway an important vector of industrial development in Burkina Faso. In addition to tax contributions, SITARAIL pays an average of 10 billion FCFA each year to local service providers and suppliers.
What are the innovations undertaken by SITARAIL to increase its performance, in order to better contribute to the supply of agricultural products and inputs to Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso?
SITARAIL invests heavily in modernizing its equipment, in order to increase its competitiveness. As part of the maintenance of railway equipment, SITARAIL has been implementing, since 2019, a vast program to strengthen and modernize its workshops. With a total cost of more than 3 billion FCFA, this investment enabled the acquisition and installation of new and modern equipment in the wagon, rolling stock and engine workshops of Bobo-Dioulasso and Abidjan, in order to strengthen its maintenance tools for more efficient and secure rail traffic.
During 2022, we acquired a new modern tamper-straightener-grader. This latest generation equipment, which cost more than 2 billion FCFA, allows a higher processing rate of sleepers, as well as better precision, during railway maintenance operations.
Alongside the acquisition of work equipment, SITARAIL invests in the renewal of railway works.
This is the case, for example, of the Agboville railway bridge, in Ivory Coast, which was completely replaced by a new structure in August 2022.
In short, with all the investments made for maintenance and the acquisition of new equipment, our company will be able to best ensure the logistics of agricultural products between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
Interview conducted by JB
Boxed
“What are the prospects for SITARAIL in the transport of agricultural products in the medium and long term? »
AWith the involvement of States and other partners, SITARAIL and the AGL Group are in a dynamic of finding financing solutions, through a new investment program which will increase the performance of our network and, consequently, increase our offer transport, including that of agropastoral products. In any case, SITARAIL reaffirms its commitment and its desire to continue working with the States of Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, to develop the railway sector and promote its economic and social role in the sub-region. West African, declared the commercial director.
