Ouahigouya

Fields of irrigation, markets humming

Ouahigouya is a city in northern Burkina Faso, located 182 kilometres northwest of the capital, Ouagadougou. It serves as the capital of Yatenga Province and is the largest town in the Nord Region, ranking fourth among the nation’s cities by population.

The city’s economy rests on a primarily agricultural base. Two dams situated north and west of the town enable limited irrigation, allowing farmers to grow vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, onions and, most prominently, potatoes. Nonetheless, the broader region remains heavily reliant on seasonal rainfall, and staple grains—millet and sorghum—continue to dominate the local diet.

Beyond crops, Ouahigouya sustains a modest craft sector focused on leather processing and tanneries. A larger mining enterprise conducts gold prospecting in the surrounding area, providing an additional source of employment. Commercial activity benefits from the paved highway linking Ouahigouya to Ouagadougou; merchants import manufactured goods along this route and redistribute them within the local market.

Public services include a stadium, a private non‑profit paediatric hospital with 36 beds for childbirth and 24 beds for severe malnutrition, a post office offering internet access, and at least one branch of Ecobank. The city operates in the Africa/Ouagadougou time zone, uses the West African CFA franc (XOF), and its residents speak French (fr‑BF) and Mossi (mos).

For further details, see the Wikipedia entry on Ouahigouya.