Vegetable production is among the activities in USAID’s new five-year commitment to advance agriculture for development in Mali. 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) held a Partnership Declaration event on 27 June 2019 at the US Embassy in Bamako, Mali, to renew its commitment to investments in the country. The event bought together high-level participants including from the Ministry of Agriculture and officials from the USA to discuss activities to boost resilience, strengthen agricultural growth, and improve nutrition for millions of Malians.

His Excellency Ambassador Dennis B. Hankins officially launched the US Government’s partnership with the Malian Government for a renewed five-year country plan to promote food and nutrition security.

The World Vegetable Center West and Central Africa – Dry Regions team participated in a fair where interventions supported by USAID in Mali were displayed. Dr. Omar Diouf led the WorldVeg team at the event. He explained the Center’s Mali Scaling initiative to promote community vegetable gardening, nutrition and WASH (water-sanitation-hygiene) activities to Ambassador Hankins and Mali’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Moulaye Ahmed Boubacar.

The new five-year strategy will build on the US Government’s ongoing USAID Feed the Future initiatives, and supports Mali’s National Agricultural Investment Plan, the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan, and National Resilience Priorities. Through inclusive and sustainable agricultural-led economic growth, activities under the plan will improve nutrition and strengthen resilience of vulnerable populations in Sikasso, Koutiala, Bougouni, Mopti, and Tombouctou regions. Mali is one of 12 partner countries selected by the US Government  for this new phase of the Feed the Future initiative. Other countries included in the strategy are Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Hankins underscored the importance of investing in the agricultural sector to provide job opportunities for Malian youth. “This new five-year strategy invests in agriculture to feed the future, and to increase economic and job opportunities for young people to lead a more prosperous Mali,” he said.

The plan supports innovative activities to increase agricultural productivity of sorghum, millet, maize, rice, and livestock, as well as help families with new techniques of vegetable gardening and agroforestry to improve dietary diversity and sustenance.

Under the plan, USAID and Feed the Future will also promote engagement with private sector partners to introduce innovative solutions to agricultural challenges in Mali. The five-year plan also seeks increased domestic and international commercial opportunities for Malian agricultural products.

Others attending included representatives of research centers, and implementing partners of Feed the Future, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Source: USAID, ICRISAT

Photos: Kabirou Ndiaye