SHEA BELT REGION- BURKINA FASO

Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the south west. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on August 4, 1984 by President Thomas Sankara to mean "the land of upright people" (or "upright land") in Mossi and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Independence from France came in 1960.

Of all the countries of the African Shea zone, Burkina Faso is most popularly identified with the Shea tree, known in French as karité, which occurs across more than 80% of the country. Shea nut constituted the second largest export product for Burkina Faso during the 1980s.

Burkina Faso: A Land In Poverty
A poor country even by West African standards, landlocked Burkina Faso has suffered from recurring droughts, matched in number only by the military coups it has endured, especially during the 1980s.

Source: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkinafaso

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