Yacouba Sawadogo (1946 – 3 December 2023) was a Burkinabé farmer and agronomist who successfully used a traditional farming technique called zaï to restore soils damaged by desertification and drought.

[6] The northern portions of Burkina Faso fall in the Sahel Belt, a semi-arid region between the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas further south.

[2] The most recent major drought occurred from 1972 to 1984, resulting in a famine which killed hundreds of thousands of people.

[2] Together with Mathieu Ouédraogo, another local farm innovator, Sawadogo began experimenting with techniques for rehabilitating damaged soil in the 1970s.

Sawadogo introduced the innovation of filling them with manure and other biodegradable waste in order to provide a source of nutrients for plant life.

[2] To promote these methods, particularly zaï holes, Sawadogo held twice yearly "Market Days" at his farm in the village of Gourga.

[10] The process was supported by the Dutch scientist Chris Reij (World Resources Institute)[11] and OXFAM UK.

[9] Under the provisions of the program, Sawadogo and his immediate family members are each entitled to one tenth of 1 acre (400 m2) out of the plot and did not receive any other compensation.