Burkina Faso to import dairy cows with high genetic potential from Brazil

BURKINA FASO – The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources, and Fisheries has announced that Burkina Faso is preparing to import 710 expectant cows from Brazil for livestock farm developers, as part of a comprehensive strategy to modernize its dairy and beef sectors.

The import follows discussions initiated in June 2025 between the Centre for the Promotion of Poultry Farming and the Multiplication of High-Performing Animals (CPAMAP) and the Daniel Franco Institute in Brazil. The goal was to strengthen CPAMAP’s capacities in the genetic improvement of livestock.

According to the authorities, the aim of importing cows with high genetic potential is to gradually disseminate these lines among local farmers, in order to improve the productivity of the national livestock herd and strengthen food security.

“The dairy breeds have average productions ranging from 15 to 40 liters of milk per day. As for the Nelore breed, exclusively intended for meat production, it can reach a weight of 1,100 kg at the age of five,” explained the Ministry of Agriculture.

In comparison, milk production per head of local breed dairy cows is estimated at between 0.5 and 1.3 liters per day in Burkina Faso.

“Brazil has expertise in breeding high-performing breeds and also similarities in climatic conditions with Burkina Faso. We thought that the animals coming from this country might adapt better,” said Ardiouma Sirima, Director General of CPAMAP.

The challenge of improving livestock productivity through genetic improvement is all the more strategic as the government wishes to create an environment favourable to the industrial development of the dairy and meat sectors.

Since 2025, Ouagadougou has affirmed a political will to reduce its dependence on dairy product imports.

This will materialise with the inauguration last March of the public company Faso Kosam, mandated to organise the supply of raw materials, the processing and the distribution of milk and dairy products.

The authorities are counting on the operationalization of Faso Kosam to meet at least half of the country’s dairy consumption needs by 2030.

According to data compiled by the FAO, Burkina Faso imported an average of nearly 25,000 tonnes of dairy products (powdered milk, concentrated whole milk, raw milk, butter, etc.) per year between 2020 and 2024. Over the same period, the average value of these purchases is estimated at US$29 million per year.

Regarding the meat sector, the stated ambition is to position Burkina Faso in the livestock meat export segment. It is with this objective in mind that the public agency Faso Abattoir was created last April, with the mission of centralizing and professionalizing the management of national slaughterhouses.

The authorities plan to implement a program that includes the rehabilitation of existing slaughterhouses and the construction of new processing units, with the aim of strengthening capacity and developing the country’s processing infrastructure.

In January 2026, construction began on a slaughterhouse in Banfora at a total cost of nearly US$5 million. In Burkina Faso, livestock numbered nearly 71 million head of animals in 2023, including 49.5% poultry, 16.1% sheep, 15.3% goats and 14% cattle, according to the INSD.

Subscribe to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa, the Middle East and around the world. SUBSCRIBE HERE