Ouahigouya, December 3 2023(AIB)-After 51 years of fierce struggle against the advance of the desert in the north of Burkina Faso, the fight stopped this Sunday in Ouahigouya at the age of 77 for Yacouba Sawadogo, the “Champion of the earth 2020”.

In the early morning of this Sunday, December 3, 2023 in Ouahigouya, the 2020 “Champion of the Earth” died at the age of 77.

After a long illness, he passed away at the Regional University Hospital Center (CHUR) in Ouahigouya.

He was buried in the evening in his courtyard in Gourga, located in sector 15 of Ouahigouya, the same day.

Born in 1946 in the province of Yatenga, in the Northern region, the deceased was crowned land champion on December 11, 2020.

In addition to this prize, in 2018 he received the alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Sweden.

The late Yacouba Sawadogo attended Koranic school in Mali before returning to his native village to work as a trader.

In the 1980s, drought severes hit the region, causing a drastic drop in agricultural yields.

A severe famine followed. Faced with this situation, he is determined to find a solution.

It was then that he began to plant a tree, two, then four and thousands today using the zaï technique which means “start early” in the Moore language or stone cord.

He succeeded in creating a forest of approximately 27 ha on formerly lateritic and abandoned land.

Today, the area has more than 96 species of trees, 66 types of herbs and around 40 species of wild animals.

Yacouba Sawadogo committed to stopping the desert and he did it for 51 years. He leaves behind three wives and 27 inconsolable children, but certainly determined to continue his noble fight.

Source: Burkina Information Agency