MALI – The Malian government expects a harvest of 11,696,721 tonnes of cereals during the 2025 agricultural campaign, according to Daniel Siméon Kelema, Mali’s Minister of Agriculture.
Minister Kelema revealed this during the 15th session of the extended cabinet council of the Rural Development Sector, which was held on Thursday, January 30.
This forecast, if realized, would represent an increase of 6%, or 685,870 tons more than the production achieved during the previous campaign. This ambition is part of the plan for the implementation of the new agricultural campaign.
Although the details concerning the support dedicated to farmers have not yet been revealed, it is known that some initiatives have recently been launched to support the productive apparatus through the strengthening of agricultural infrastructure.
For example, the government announced last December that it had received a US$47.5 million loan from BOAD (West African Development Bank) to finance Phase 2 of the Irrigation Development Program in the Bani Basin and Sélingué (PDI-BS).
The program aims to develop more than 34,000 hectares of irrigated agricultural land in the Maninkoura, Moyen Bani and Djenné areas.
In January, the government also approved two projects costing US$25.1 million aimed at strengthening hydro-agricultural development in the N’Débougou area associated with the Office du Niger, one of the main rice production areas in the country.
Maize is the main cereal grown in Mali, accounting for an average of about 41% of the cereal supply between 2019 and 2023, according to data compiled by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is followed by rice (21%), millet (20%), and sorghum (17%).
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a website of information and analysis on food insecurity, last year an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people in Mali were reported to be in need of emergency food aid during the June to August season.
FEWS NET continued to report that although the number of people in need would decrease in the post-harvest period, needs would still remain high in the northern part of the country, particularly among IDPs and poor host households.
In Ménaka, it was reported that Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes would persist until September, with a proportion of households in inaccessible areas facing Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) outcomes.
Sign up to HERE receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.