Bobo-Dioulasso: The Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises, Serge Poda, launched, on Friday February 16, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso, the construction work of the Center national support for artisanal cotton processing (CNATAC).

For a competitive artisanal sector with high added value and creator of decent jobs, the General Directorate of Crafts has undertaken to strengthen the technical and entrepreneurial skills of artisans by setting up a National Transformation Support Center artisanal cotton industry (CNATAC).

Construction work on the said center was launched by the Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises on Friday February 16, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso.

The result of cooperation between the government of Burkina Faso and that of the Republic of Italy, through the Italian agency for development cooperation, the infrastructure to be built is made up of four lots.

The first lot with a total cost of 815,248,801 F CFA includes
: a practical workshop-course block, a store block, a borehole equipped with a solar pump and a water tower, a cold water distribution network health, roads and various networks.

The second lot, with a total cost of 323,816,931 F CFA, includes: an administrative block and media library, an outdoor toilet block, a gatehouse and entrance gates and a fence.

For lot 3, it costs 240,151,089 CFA francs and includes the repair of existing and unfinished infrastructure on the site. These are the weaving workshop block, the exhibition room, the three classrooms and the manager’s office.

As for lot 4, costing 177,989,698 F CFA, it includes the technical premises, the distribution network, the energy supplies, the solar energy field.

With a total cost of 3.5 billion FCFA, the construction time for this infrastructure is eight months.

According to the minister, Serge Poda, this center will not be limited to being a simple physical structure. It is going to be a true hub of innovation, offering advanced training prog
rams, technical advice and support services to help artisans thrive in an ever-changing economic environment.

‘This center will serve as a catalyst for the emergence of new cotton processing techniques, thereby improving the quality of our products and strengthening our position in national and international markets,’ he said.

According to the head of the department in charge of crafts, the CNATAC infrastructures will also serve as a forum for strengthening the technical and entrepreneurial skills of craftsmen by organizing tailor-made training sessions for their benefit in the professions of weaving, dyeing, tailoring, business management and IT. Anything that will contribute to the promotion of Burkinabè cotton.

Serge Poda invited the companies responsible for building the infrastructure to respect contractual deadlines and carry out quality work.

According to the president of the Chamber of Craft Trades of Burkina Faso (CMA-BF), Germaine Compaoré, once operational, the center will be a reference in ter
ms of professional training and apprenticeship in the fields of textiles, particularly weaving. , dyeing and sewing cutting.

‘In addition, it will allow artisans to have an adequate framework to strengthen their technical skills in these trades,’ she underlined.

Listening to him, the objectives of the center are fully in line with the current concerns of artisans and the objectives of the CMA-BF in terms of professionalism, improvement of the quality of artisanal products and opportunities for profit. players in the craft sector.

‘This center constitutes a real opportunity for many women and men, because it will not only help artisans contribute to a substantial transformation of Burkinabè cotton, but also offer quality cotton-based by-products for the happiness of the populations,’ suggested the president of the CMA-BF.

She therefore invited all the actors who will intervene in this center to give the best of themselves so that these young people and women who will receive training there are relays in pr
ofessional training, but also models of professional entrepreneurs.

Source: Burkina Information Agency