A new poultry hatchery valued at about US$1.2 million has started operations in Tolotama in the Bobo-Dioulasso district.
This is a fresh investment in Burkina Faso’s livestock industry, which contributes 12% to national GDP and provides employment for around 72% of the population.
The facility was officially inaugurated in February by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso, with local media reporting that Pharmapath Burkina developed the project on a two-hectare site designed to focus on the production of hatching eggs and improved-quality chicks for poultry farmers.
Operating under the name “Chicken and Egg,” the farm is expected to produce one million hatching eggs by 2026, according to company coordinator Alidou Ouédraogo, who added that output is projected to reach two million eggs in 2027 as the operation scales up.
He said the objective of the investment is to make chicken more accessible to consumers nationwide by expanding supply beyond festive periods and to higher-income households.
Policy shift alters supply dynamics
The commissioning of the hatchery follows a government decision taken on 3rd October 2025, to suspend imports of broiler chicks, a move intended to stimulate domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers in the poultry segment.
Trade data from the International Trade Centre’s Trade Map platform show that Burkina Faso imported an average of US$736,000 worth of chicks annually between 2020 and 2024, with purchases reaching US$1.06 million (US$1.06 million) in 2024.
During that year, Morocco, Belgium, France and Turkey ranked among the principal external sources of chicks for the Burkinabe market, reflecting the country’s previous dependence on imported day-old birds to sustain meat production.
Poultry’s weight in livestock numbers
The importance of hatchery output is tied to the broader structure of Burkina Faso’s livestock population, which stood at nearly 71 million animals in 2023, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Demography.
Official data indicate that poultry accounted for 49.5% of the total herd, placing the segment at the centre of efforts to expand domestic meat supply as demographic growth drives higher demand for animal protein.
