Sociolingo’s Mali

An article on BBC NEWS about ‘Misery in Mali’s cotton-picking fields‘ reminds us of the woes of Mali’s farmers. These are not the huge cotton companies one sees in the US South, but family units who co-operate together. The work is hard and for very little return. An article, ‘Cotton-omics‘ on the OXFAM website gives some insight into the figures:

Here’s a hypothetical example based on normal crop yields and prices for a farmer growing the typical seven acres of cotton, according to Ibrahim Coulibaly, an agricultural expert from Mali’s Association of Professional Producers. In this case, a farmer will clear about $US200 for a year’s work. From this, a farmer would be hard pressed to pay off the debts taken on to purchase the tools, fertilizer, and other inputs needed to operate a farm. Then, with what little money is left, the farmer would have to repay loans, and cover all household costs, health care, education, and other expenses. It’s a difficult life for farmers with few other options for earning income.

Access the figures

More from OXFAM about cotton in Mali

A Fairtrade article focuses on the story about the Dougourakoroni co-operative in the south of Mali in Kita Region, although it also has a lot of good information about cotton in Mali and some general information about the country. Many small farmers switched from peanuts to cotton as their cash crop following drought and disease in the early 1980s and now, according to the article, 40% of rural Malians are dependent on cotton production.

Yale Global online has an article from 2005 referring to cotton in Mali which argues that Africa needs fair trade not charity and that allowing producers to export to a subsidy-free world market will lift many out of poverty.

‘Journey to the Lands of Cotton: A Brief Manual of Globalisation’ on the Open Democracy site is a rather long extract of an article by Erik Orsenna who has written a sort of field diary of a trip to the cotton producing countries of Mali, the USA and Brazil. Of particular interest is an interview with Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali.

‘We are condemned for our deficit. But no one looks at the causes of that deficit. Without the subsidies they get from their state, American farmers would produce dearer cotton than we do. Since independence we’ve increased our production by a factor of twenty. For forty years we’ve fought day after day to better ourselves. We’ve gone all out for competition. Without the slightest chance of winning, because the most powerful player is cheating.’

The argument about the role of US cotton subsidies and fair trade will not go away. Is it really a case of Africa blaming its problems on outsiders as the US Ambassador to Mali claims in the above article? Will the privatisation of the Malian cotton industry bring the results the World Bank and others claim or is it just another part of vested interests protecting themselves?  The questions remain whilst Malian farmers struggle.

One of the things my kids (now grown up with kids of their own) reminisce about from their life in West Africa is mangoes fresh from the tree. They both loved green mangoes, a peculiarly teenage phenomenon as far as I was concerned, sour and acidic. I can get mangoes here in the UK, but they are a shadow of the freshly picked, ripened on the tree version. I was pleased to spot a photo essay on BBC NEWS specifically on mangoes from Mali. We used to drive out along the Sibi road for picnics and it was a joy to get the first mangoes of the year from road side stalls. I say stalls but really it would be just a few piles of mangoes on a cloth, or maybe on a rickety table or in large washing buckets. None of the ladies spoke any French so I had to struggle with the Bambara money system, based on 5. I never really felt i had a handle on it. But it gave them a laugh anyway.

Here are some delightful pictures courtesy of BBC:
In pictures: Mali’s mangos (click here to go to the photo essay and notes)

Djenaba Coulibaly is having a good season. She sells the mangos everyday at Sibi’s market, and gets about $1 for every 30 mangos.“I can look after my family with the money, and buy clothes for the children. But this year I’m going to treat myself,” she says.

Short season

Attempts are being made to diversify the industry and develop the income-generating potential of those - mostly women - who work in it.At the Jeka Bara co-operative in the Sebenikoro district of Bamako, a group of 17 women are having some success in maximising their income. “I’m going to get some new clothes, some really nice food and even a beautiful pair of new shoes.” This is important as the mango season is a short one - beginning in February and lasting between two to three months.

See the rest of the photos

A report on agriculture research in Mali:

The World Bank

  [Found on Google]

 

PROJECT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORT
MALI
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH PROJECT
(CREDIT 25570–ML)
AGRICULTURAL TRADING AND PROCESSING PROMOTION PILOT
PROJECT
(CREDIT 27370–ML)
PILOT PRIVATE IRRIGATION PROMOTION PROJECT
(TF N0210–ML)
June 25, 2007
Sector, Thematic

I’ve just spotted a positive news story about Mali on BBC NEWS

Timbuktu’s climate change fight

By Celeste Hicks BBC News, Timbuktu

As the Bali climate negotiations draw to a conclusion, farmers on the frontline of climate change, around Timbuktu in northern Mali have been turning the desert green.

Unpredictable rainfall and deforestation have seen the Sahara Desert encroach on the historic town over the last few years, but now irrigation projects are helping farmers to fight back.

The men always used to take decisions for the family, now the women are also making a contribution Zeinabi Maiga

Timbuktu is fortunate to be just a few kilometres from the massive inland delta of the River Niger, and draws water from vast underground aquifers - bodies of permeable rock which transmit water.

A women’s co-operative in the village of Kabara, south of Timbuktu, is using these water sources to plant eucalyptus trees.

They nurture them for two years after which the trees can then survive almost without rain.

More 

The following article is from The African Press Agency

http://apanews.net/article_eng.php3?id_article=31688 

APA - Lagos (Nigeria) The African Development Bank (ADB) is granting Mali a loan of about 22.65 million dollars, to finance an agro-silvo-pastoral project in the south-Kayes area of Mali, APA learnt here. A statement by the bank on Wednesday in Tunis, said the loan was approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank (ADB) Group. It said the loan will support the development of animal production project in the south-Kayes area of Mali that seeks to increase animal production and the incomes of agro-stock breeders in a sustainable manner so as to ens ADB grants Mali US$ 22.65m loan for agro-pastoral dev. ure food security and poverty reduction in the area. The project, which will be implemented over a six-year period, concerns the agro-pastoral area of South-Kayes (Kenieba, Bafoulabe and the Kita) circles, the statement said, adding that it involves the development of animal production (cattle, sheep/goats, and poultry) and enhance advisory support and improved traditional livestock systems. Furthermore, the project ensure better management of agro-silvo-pastoral space, with particular emphasis on transhumance routes, through the development of infrastructure and the putting in place of consultative mechanisms. The key target outputs of the project include building the capacities of 49 priority communities and 126 producers’ organizations, the setting up a network of eight private veterinary agents and 160 village assistants, vaccination coverage and local advisory support for 35,000 stockbreeders among others.

GIK/tjm/APA

2007-04-19

From Reuters Africa

UPDATE 2-Low prices slashing Mali cotton output by 25 pct

Wed 21 Feb 2007, 15:20 GMT

(Recasts with background, details throughout)

By Tiemoko Diallo

BAMAKO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Cotton production in Mali is expected to have dropped by more than a quarter in 2006 as farmers in the impoverished West African nation give up on the crop in the face of tumbling world prices.

Export earnings in Mali, the leading cotton producer in West and Central Africa, are heavily reliant on cotton, known locally as “white gold”. The government has long blamed U.S. domestic farm subsidies for the slump in world prices.

State cotton company CMDT said cotton output was expected to have dropped to 435,000 tonnes in the 2006 season from 585,000 tonnes the previous year as farmers struggled to earn enough money to maintain their fields.

More 

Thanks to 34 cents for this item from BIO-IPR Docserver

Having met in Bamako between the 17th and 21st of February 2007, we farmers, pastoralists, representatives of civil society groups, social movements, and environmentalists from 17 countries, mainly from West Africa with representatives from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe have extensively discussed and exchanged on:

• the issues of privatisation of seeds and genetic engineering,
• the principles and practices of ecological farming, seed conservation and the food & cultural sovereignty of our countries, and
• the ability of traditional seeds to nurture and guide our food and farming future in ways that sustain nature and the livelihoods of the agrarian communities of our planet.

Our interaction has opened up new vistas on life-affirming agricultural practices based on seed and animal breed conservation, as well as on struggles for community food and seed sovereignty. It has reaffirmed our conviction in the strength of traditional knowledge systems and respectful intercultural dialogue.

More

A report just out indicates that Mali is having some success in provoking rainfall by seeding clouds. This new innovation, which has cost 2.8 billion FCFA has been paid for out of the national budget and was recently allowed by law (January 2006). So far the results seem good and production has increased due to increased rain. The process is somewhat complicated and depends on the right atmospheric conditions. Malians are being trained by American specialists.

Translated from http://www.malikounda.com/nouvelle_voir.php?idNouvelle=8883

The rains have been late this year and many parts of the country have been suffering and worrying about the harvest.

The good news is that the heavy rain of the last couple of weeks has brought hope to farmers. All areas of the country have been affected by the late rains, particularly the north in the regions of Gao and Kidal. The cotton and corn (maise) crops have shown a decline in production and seedlings are late in growing. However, in part of Sikasso Region the crop of corn and millet show increases.

Cereals are in reasonable supply throughout the country and are available in markets, stores and government stores, and the price remains steady apart from in Kayes and Segou where the price has fallen and Koulikoro where the price has risen. Prices are generally lower than in 2005, but the price of rice has risen over the last 5 years whilst other cereals have fallen. Seeds are also in good supply and recent attempts to improve the availablility of seeds to local farmers have been succesful.

The water situation is generally good and improvements have been made over the last 10 years.

Summarised from http://www.essor.gov.ml/

This is a telling report about Mali and US cotton subsidies - and they wonder why they are unpopular!

“If BT cotton is so profitable, why do they have to subsidise their cotton farmers with billions of dollars in the United States?” Ms Samake asks.

“Our farmers in West Africa achieve record production using just their digging sticks and regular seeds and they have great difficulty selling what they produce, because subsidies in America and Europe have made the world price for cotton fall.

“So why do they come now with their GMOs and technology to solve a problem that they created? It’s a big farce!” adds Ms Samake, who is a member of the Coalition to Protect Mali’s Genetic Heritage that formed when word leaked from IER about the USAid-funded project on BT crops.”