Like most people in the Burkina Faso village of Pissila, Samuel and his family rely on the land for their food.
Droughts are always dreaded but Samuel and his fellow villagers have a back-up when the rains fail - the community grain bank.
Last year Samuel was able to buy millet from the grain bank, which is supported by Tearfund partner CREDO, at a reduced rate compared to market prices and help his family through a lean patch when food was in short supply.
‘The bank has been helpful because when there isn’t enough rain, there are a lot of problems,’ said the 60-year-old.
David is a local pastor who is a member of the committee that runs the grain bank and he explained how it operates: ‘In the years when crop production is low, we can buy food in advance so people don’t have to leave to find work or find food. If someone is running out of food they can come and ask for help and buy food on credit.’
Changing rains
Another villager who relied on the grain bank last year was Joseph, who bought sorghum seeds on credit and paid them back when he could. Without the bank’s presence, he says, his family would have faced ‘serious difficulties’.
Pissila’s grain bank has been operating for around 25 years and looks to be increasingly important.
Mark, 55, who is in charge of it, said, ‘If there were no bank, we would be in the same situation as Burkina was 60 years ago. Then there was a famine – farmers had very low yields even though they worked hard.’
All the men agree that the rain patterns have changed over the last ten to 20 years.
Pastor David said, ‘Twenty years ago the rains started in June. Today, in June, we don’t know how much rain there will be. Sometimes the rain might start well but then end early.’