| As in almost all sub-Saharan African countries, agriculture plays an important role in the economic life of Burkina Faso. The World Bank's 1983 report indicates that agriculture's contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 41 percent in 1981 compared to 16 percent for the industrial sector. In 1980, exports of agricultural products (basically cotton, groundnuts, and livestock) accounted for 89 percent of total export earnings. The country is primarily agricultural, with nearly 90 percent of the population dependent on agriculture as a livelihood. Yet it is well known today that Burkina Faso, going into its third decade as a sovereign nation, is still facing, like its Sahelian counterparts, one of the biggest challenges of economic... |
