Burkina Faso hails security gains and food self-sufficiency in 2025

Burkina Faso’s President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, delivered a largely positive end-of-year address on December 31, highlighting major security improvements and the country’s achievement of food self-sufficiency, while laying out ambitious plans for 2026.

In his traditional New Year’s message, Traoré emphasized the success of Operation Lalmassga (“Ice Wall”), which enabled the Burkinabe armed forces to reclaim dozens of towns previously controlled by terrorist groups, particularly in the Nakambé region, near Kompienga Dam, Namungu in Gulmu, and Namsiguia around Djibo and Toulfé. He promised continued military offensives up to national borders and praised both the army and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) for their role in the territorial reconquest.

On the humanitarian front, Traoré noted that thousands of internally displaced people have returned to secure areas, receiving support to restart agricultural activities and benefit from newly built infrastructure.

Agriculture stood out as a major achievement, with Traoré announcing that Burkina Faso reached food self-sufficiency in 2025, thanks to effective campaigns, improved seeds, subsidies, and mechanization. Plans for 2026 include further land development, water retention projects, aquaculture, and fodder crop production.

The president also touched on mining, education, and health, noting state efforts to regain control over mineral resources, expand technical and professional education, and strengthen health facilities. Infrastructure development will continue with new road construction brigades and a shift toward high-rise urban planning.

Traoré reaffirmed Burkina Faso’s sovereign foreign policy, welcoming partners who respect national independence while rejecting external pressures. He concluded with a call to national values—integrity, dignity, and patriotism—urging citizens to embrace a new, corruption-free Burkina Faso focused on national development.