ICRAF has worked in Burkina Faso since 1989, and CIFOR established an office there in 2003. Research has focused on agroforestry parkland typology, governance and management of community forests in the context of decentralization, forest and tree-based small enterprises and value chain development, forest management, tree and forest genetic resources, domestication of tree species, soil and land health, soil and land restoration, climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate-smart agriculture, climate information services, links between food trees/forests and smallholder diets, links between migration and forests, smallholder management of forest-farm interface, impact of trade and investment on shea parklands and local actors.

CIFOR-ICRAF takes a systems’ perspective in its all defined research priority areas, including concerns about post COVID-19 recovery and ‘forced’ migration due to conflicts. Through a long-established presence and connection with the national research system CIFOR-ICRAF has gained a better understanding of national needs while contributing to building capacity among local partners through project activities.