Good Food for Cities

AfriFOODLinks in Ouagadougou: healthier and safe street food, school meals, and food markets

July 1, 2025

In Ouagadougou, access to healthy and nutritious food is impacted by various issues, such as shrinking urban farmland, imbalanced school meals, unsafe street food, and unfavourable market conditions. The city’s food system also reflects nationwide concerns about food and nutritional insecurity, a problem exacerbated by climate shocks and rising food prices.

As part of the EU-funded AfriFOODlinks programme, coordinated by ICLEI Africa, Rikolto and its partners are trialling strategies to create urban food systems that provide access to healthy, nutritious food while respecting planetary boundaries. Rikolto is supporting the coordination of AfriFOODlinks in Ouagadougou and co-leading Work Package 3 on inclusive and circular agribusiness and innovation with SHONA, a partner organisation based in Mbale, Uganda.

In Ouagadougou, the pilot projects are being implemented in schools, markets, and street food settings. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses, but they all seek to contribute to shared learning towards a more inclusive and sustainable urban food system in Ouagadougou.

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Country

Region

Ouagadougou

Icon Scope

Scope

Young people and women run circular and inclusive food businesses.

Icon Duration

Duration

2022 - 2026

Challenges

In Ouagadougou, more than 90% of people eat at least one meal outside the home each day. However, the food sold in schools, markets and on the streets often fails to meet basic hygiene and nutritional standards. School canteens often lack kitchens and serve repetitive, carbohydrate-rich meals.

Street food vendors, many of whom are women with limited training, face unsafe working conditions and unclear hygiene regulations. Poor infrastructure for storing fresh produce in markets can lead to food waste, lower incomes for vendors, and health risks for consumers. These interconnected issues make it difficult for residents, especially the most vulnerable, to access healthy, safe and affordable food.

Addressing these issues would require strategies tailored to local needs, available resources and existing constraints; and there is when Rikolto and partners come in!

A view of the building of the Municipality of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Our approach

Through AfriFOODLinks, we are co-leading Working Package 3 alongside SHONA. This package focuses on promoting inclusive and circular food entrepreneurship and innovation. In Ouagadougou, this translates into the following activities:

  1. Transforming Street Food: Rikolto is facilitating consultations with the city hygiene department, national agencies, restaurateurs, vendors, and civil society organisations, with the aim of co-designing the 'Restaurant Gold' model. This experimental model aims to set a standard for safe, nutritious and well-managed street restaurants. Planned activities include training sessions for vendors (mostly women), subsidising hygiene equipment, and supporting the revision of the public hygiene code.
  2. Improving School Food Environments: In collaboration with schools, local authorities and parent associations, Rikolto is contributing to a pilot project designed to enhance the school food environment. This is being carried out in Nongmikma A and B schools. This involves assessing canteen facilities, diversifying menus, providing hygiene and nutrition training, and creating murals to encourage healthy eating. A proposal for a municipal food council is also under discussion. Rikolto supports coordination, multi-actor dialogue and ongoing monitoring. Other schools, including Barakel, Somgandé A and C, and Saint Dominique, have participated in capacity-building sessions.
  3. Upgrading Fresh Produce Markets: At Naabi Yaar market, Rikolto is collaborating with the local authorities and vendor groups to trial improved stall infrastructure and reinforce hygiene, storage and waste management practices among vendors. Murals are part of the awareness-raising effort. The pilot's objectives are to reduce produce losses, improve food quality, and enhance the livelihoods of market vendors.
A hackathon was organised in 2024 with the support of the AfriFOODLinks programme.
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Food System Report

We invite you to browse this report about the state of the food system in Ouagadougou. Published in May 2024 as part of the AfriFOODLinks project.

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What had we achieved so far?

  • Four schools in Ouagadougou have completed diagnostic assessments to identify barriers to healthy eating, paving the way for the full GoodFood@School programme to begin. As part of the AfriFOODlinks project, these four schools, along with a fifth, participated in capacity-building sessions on hygiene and cooking practices. Work is underway at Nongmikma A and B to provide the schools with kitchens and refectories for pupils.
  • The project has also initiated improvements to the infrastructure of informal food vendors. Stalls are being built for vendors at the Naabi Yaar market, while mobile counters are being developed for street vendors at Ouagadougou’s central market.
  • At city level, a food system assessment and a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues have helped to define a shared vision for a more inclusive and sustainable urban food system. In parallel, a working group of financing stakeholders has developed three financing models aimed at supporting inclusive food enterprises in the city.
The second edition of the Grand Ouaga 'Food Days' was hosted in Ouagadougou in June, 2025. The discussions focused on integrating food into local planning, celebrating food culture and developing inclusive urban food governance strategies.

Expected results

We hope to achieve the following results through these initiatives:

  1. Identifying and assessing the key barriers and obstacles to financing food businesses.
  2. A support programme is implemented for 100 young people and women leading circular and inclusive food businesses.
  3. Four financial models are co-created with banks, financial institutions and entrepreneurs to address financing needs.
  4. Fourthly, a tailored coaching programme is delivered to two businesses to support the adoption of circular economic practices. A bespoke coaching programme is delivered to two businesses to encourage the adoption of circular economic practices.
  5. Successful business cases are documented to inform future initiatives and share knowledge.
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Who do we work with?

The project in Ouagadougou is being implemented by a network of allied agencies and organisations, including

  • the Department of Foresight, Planning and Studies (DPPE), which represents the Ouagadougou Municipality.
  • the Department of Foresight, Planning and Studies (DPPE), representing the Ouagadougou municipality;
  • the Urban Economic Development Agency (ADEU);
  • the Department of Food Technologies at the Institute for Research in Applied Sciences and Technologies (DTA/IRSAT);
  • the Agency for the Financing and Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (AFP-PME);
  • the Burkina Consumers' League;
  • Inades-Formation Burkina; and
  • the NGO ACRA.
EU
ICLEI

Contact

Harouna Maiga

Project Coordinator

harouna.maiga@rikolto.org

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