Mali - Agriculture



Mali Agriculture 1768
Photo by: jean claude braun

Only the southern part of Mali is suited to farming, and less than 2% of Mali's area is cultivated. Agriculture accounted for about 45% of GDP, 21% of exports, and over 80% of the active labor force in 2001. Millet, rice, and corn are the basic food crops. Millet and sorghum are cultivated mainly in the areas around Ségou, Bandiagara, and Nioro. Paddy rice is cultivated on irrigated farms in the area around Mopti, Ségou, and Niafounké. Cereals are produced for subsistence by 90% of farmers. Peanuts are grown in the Sudanese zone, as are cotton, fruits, vegetables, and henna. The shea tree nut, which grows wild, is exploited by Malians for its oil.

Output fluctuates widely as a result of the amount and distribution of rainfall. In 1999, cereal production was estimated at 2,149,000 tons. Production estimates in 1999 for principal agricultural crops grown for domestic use included millet, 641,000 tons; sorghum, 559,000 tons; sugarcane, 303,000 tons; corn, 341,000 tons; cassava, 10,000 tons; and sweet potatoes, 16,000 tons. The rice production figure was 589,000 tons.

Cotton is Mali's major foreign exchange earner. In 1999, Mali had a production of 218,000 tons. Buoyant world prices have increased foreign exchange earnings from cotton. In 2001, Mali's trade surplus in agricultural products was $46.7 million.

The Niger Office, now a state-controlled agency, was set up in 1932 to aid in improving cotton and rice production. It developed the irrigation and modern cultivation of some 81,000 ha (200,000 acres) in the dry inland delta of the Niger; in 1998, about 138,000 ha (341,000 acres) in Mali were irrigated. The infrastructure includes a dam (2.6 km wide/1.6 mi), irrigation canals, ditches and dikes, and such installations as housing stores, warehouses, rice and oil mills, cotton-ginning factories, sugar refineries, soap factories, research stations, schools, and dispensaries. Growing cotton in irrigated fields did not succeed and was abandoned in 1970. All cotton is now grown in nonirrigated fields in the regions of Bamako, Ségou, and Sikasso.

Also read article about Mali from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

1
Nathalia
This was a great website!!!!! it helped me soooo much for my paper on Malian food and production!!!!!
2
JJ n' Scooter
This website helps me with my social studies project on Mali! its awsome! Kepp up the awsome work! I'll be back to use this site again, (because are projects arn't over yet!) thanks!
3
Melanie
Thanks for the information! It really helped me with my research paper. I would suggest adding some more information (ex. author, date of article, etc) that would help me site it more efficiantly. Thanks again!
4
ut
Wow, did this hlp or wht thx that was totaly gr8 it hlpd a lot! LOL
wow this helped me alot with the info i needed on Mali thnx.
Thanks for the information I'm sure this will help many people in the future.
that rely helped me with my social studdies home work! thank you
5thuis is a good artical i have a big report due in one week behind
9
Pikachu
thanks this hleped me alot lol the work im doing is on Agriculture so this will help me alot
Hii, thanks for the help I neeeda it love -jenny and christina . :)
Please update regularly and the information attracts foreign investors and thus improves country economy.
12
hailey
omg this is cool it helped me with my social studies project
13
hailey
omg this is cool it helped me with my social studies project
14
Alexus
This site was very helpful , i made a "A" on my project , i will tell others use this website
15
Travis
This website helped me a lot with my project I hope I get an A
16
Hoggii
THE WEBSITE IS GREAT. THIS SITE WAS VERY HELPFUL, I WILL SHARE THIS SITE WITH OTHER CLASSMATES
17
Carrie
This website is so easy and straight forward and it helped me a lot with my project on Mali
18
Caleb
Do they grow cocoa beans and coconuts bananas and any other tropical fruit grown in
Mali?
19
Aidan
Yes, this was VERY helpful in my Malian study paper!

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: