Bi.,5 - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

- 31 -
The current pattern of education of agricultural extension
personnel centers around the facility at Matourkou, 12 kilometers
south of Bobo Dioulasso in the Southwest of Upper Volta.
Funded in 1963, through the United Nations Special Funds and
the active and sustained cooperation of the GOUV, the CAP at Matourkou
is the result of a series of projects financed by the United Nations.
The objective of these projects was not only the creation of
a training center for middle-level agricultural technicians, but also
the improvement of local farming conditions through a series of relevant
community activities and pilot projects.
The present CAP at Matourkou evolved in these stages:
1. 1963-1968. A project financed by the U.N. Special Funds resulted
in the creation of an agricultural training center whose functions
consisted of training middle-level technicians, Agents Techniques
Agricoles (ATA) and Encadreurs and provided subsequent periodic
workshops to update their training. The training received during
this period was strictly confined to agronomy.
2. 1968-1973. A second project was financed by the U.N. through the
FAO. Besides the continuation, improvement and intensification of
rural development activities in the area, this project was aimed
at strengthening and improving the training activities at the CAP.
New constructions for classrooms, laboratories, a corral, administration
and lodging were added to the existing facilities. During
this project, in 1971, the GOUV encouraged by the first results
reformed the CAP curriculum, enlarging it to include areas of
specialization namely, agronomy, livestock and forestry.
3. 1973-1976. A third project financed by FAO in Integrated Rural
Development initiated at Matourkou the training of a higher
category of Agricultural Technicians, Conducteurs des Travaux
Agricoles (CTA). New facilities were added to accommodate this
additional group of students. The areas of specialization for
the CTA's are the same as for ATA's.
The most basic level for extension personnel is the Encadreur.
This is the extension person directly in contact with the farmer at
the village or farm level. He typically haz six years of formal primary
school training with a CEPE certificate. In the past he has had nine