Geography

Mali is a vast and landlocked country in West Africa covering an area of 1.24 MKm², of which 51% consists of desert land. It shares more than 7,000 Km of borders with seven other countries: Algeria to the north, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire to the south, Guinea to the southwest, Senegal to the west, and Mauritania to the west and northwest. The relief of the country is characterized by plateaus to the south and west, in particular the Mandingue Plateau (altitude 300-400 m), and sandy plains; the alluvial plain of the Inner Niger Delta in the center; and the Adrar of Iforas in the northeast near the Algerian border which rises to 890 m and constitutes an extension of the crystalline massifs of central Sahara.

Population and land use

The population of Mali is 19 Million as per Population Reference Bureau (2018). With an HDI less than 0.55, the United Nations classifies Mali among the countries with low human development. In 2019, 68.5% of the population had access to drinking water, i.e. 70.9% in urban areas and 67.6% in rural areas. The literacy rate for people aged 15 and over was 33.8% in 2019. The unemployment rate dropped from 10.5% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2019, with 65.1% of the population aged 15 and over occupied.

Climate and rainfall

The climate of Mali, Sudano-Sahelian type, is characterized by very high average temperatures and by the alternation of a rainy wet season (June to September) with humid winds from the Gulf of Guinea (the monsoon) and a dry season lasting between five and nine months (October-November to May-June) characterized by dry winds from the Sahara (the Harmattan or continental trade wind). The average rainfall (280 mm / year) decreases from south to north, which allows the country to be divided into four major agro-climatic zones: (1) the pre-Guinean or subhumid zone (6% of the total area), (2) the Sudanian zone (17% of the total area of Mali), (3) the Sahelian zone (26% of the total area of Mali), and (4) the desert (Saharan) area (51% of the total area).

Food and agriculture

The cultivated areas (arable land and land in permanent crops) represent 6.51 Mha, i.e. 5.25% of the Mali’s total area. Mali’s agriculture is mainly subsistence with, in particular, cereal production; there is also market gardening and export crops including cotton (rainfed). In 2017/2018, cereal production was 9.296 MT (million tones) and was mainly composed of 29% for rice, 39% for maize, 16% for millet and 15% for sorghum. Cereal production for the 2018/2019 crop year is 10.160 MT, an increase of about 9.3% compared to the 2017/2018 crop year. Rain-fed agriculture is mainly based on two production systems: (i) cotton and (ii) cereals. Although growing in terms of area sown and production, the rainfed cropping system remains strongly linked to the abundance and good spatial and temporal distribution of the rains, whether for cotton in the south of the country more watered or for dry cereals throughout the country.

Water resources management

A National Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management (APIWRM) was developed in 2007 and serves as a reference for the Malian government and other actors to deal with water-related problems: food security, domestic needs, energy, environment and other uses. An institutional mechanism for the definition and implementation of IWRM, as well as frameworks for consultation and management of water resources have been put in place by the Malian government within the framework of the APIWRM: the Inter-ministerial Committee, the National Water Council (2004), the Regional and Local Water Councils (2003), and Basin or sub-basin committees.

Irrigation and drainage

Irrigation has been practiced in Mali since ancient times in the valleys of major rivers in the form of so-called traditional irrigation. Massive state investment in the development of irrigated agriculture from the 1980s has tripled the yields of crops such as rice. This is why the best alternative to securing production in a country where agriculture is predominantly rain-fed is the promotion of irrigated agriculture. There are mainly two types of hydro-agricultural developments depending on the level of water control. The following classification is made according to the level of water control: (A) Full water control: Gravity-fed irrigation systems, Gravity-fed irrigation with pumping, and Pressurized irrigation; and (B) Partial water control: Cultivated non-equipped lowlands area, Flood control irrigation, and Irrigation in lowland development. The total area developed as of June 30, 2018 is 477,926 ha.

River basins

The Malian territory corresponds to three large River Basins, namely Niger, Senegal and the Volta. The Niger and Senegal rivers are the only two streams with permanent flow in Mali. Niger, which crosses Mali from west to east, is the third river in Africa by its length (about 4,200 Km including 1,700 Km in Mali) after the Nile and the Congo rivers. In Mali, Niger has two main tributaries: the Sankarani (watershed of 33,460 Km²) and Bani .The Senegal River is formed by the junction of Bafing and Bakoye in Bafoulabe.

Water policies

The implementation of development projects and programs is part of the national policies and strategies defined by the Government of Mali with a view to ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of the country, in particular: the Strategic Framework for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Development (CREDD) of Mali, adopted in April 2016; the Agricultural Orientation Law (AOL); the agricultural land tenure law of April 11, 2017; Land Tenure Code (Code Domanial et Foncier); the National Water Policy (2006); National Environmental Protection Policy; the Agricultural Development Policy and the National Agricultural Sector Investment Program; National Agricultural Water Control Policy; and National Irrigation Development Strategy.

ICID and National Committee

In March 2004, Mali joined the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) as the Malian Association for Irrigation and Drainage (AMID). AMID provided Mr. Adama Sangare as ICID’s Vice President from 2011-2014. AMID successfully organized the 3^rd African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage, held in Bamako, Mali in 2011. AMID can be contacted at < a.sangare@betico.net; dpaul_coulibaly@yahoo.fr >