Impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations on Improving the Resilience of Vulnerable Populations to Climate Change in the Central West Region of Burkina Faso

Climate change negatively affects the production systems and producer’s incomes. This study assesses the impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) on strengthening the resilience of vulnerable populations to climate change. Data were collected through focus groups with 41 VSLA and a survey of 210 households VSLA members and non-members, using Holistic Self-Assessment of Peasant Resilience tool. Analysis of variance was applied to the data. The Newman-Keuls test at 5% threshold was used to compare resilience scores, and the chi-square test was applied. The number of VSLA is increasing in Central West region of Burkina Faso. The VSLA of first generation mobilized a yearly average of 1 522 401 F CFA and gave 895 941 F CFA of credits. Their main strengths are solidarity, social cohesion, collect of savings and credit access. VSLA members showed significantly higher resilience scores across social, economic, and environmental domains, particularly in income diversification (p<0.01), land management (p<0.001), and reforestation practices (p<0.001). VSLA contributes significantly to improve social, economic and environmental resilience scores for the vulnerable communities. For the successful operation of VSLA, it’s important to establish partnerships with financial institutions to promote financial inclusion and strengthen actors capacities for more impacts.