Chapter 5. Impact of Mali’s food and agricultural policies 159
Figure 3. Composition of public expenditure in support of agriculture in Mali, in billion FCFA, 2006-2010
0204060801001201402006 2007 2008 2009 2010p
I. Agriculture-specific policies II. Agriculture-suppor ve policiesFCFA billionSource: Authors, based on budgetary data collected by Institute of Rural Economy in Mali for the MAFAP project.
Among agriculture-specific expenditure measures, about 60 percent are in the category of general
sector support (Figure 4). Most of this expenditure falls into the infrastructure category, with the
largest investments in irrigation/water and feeder roads. Other significant expenditure supports
training, inspection, storage (including investments in related infrastructure) and marketing (including
investments in construction of markets). These expenditure shares did not change significantly
throughout the analysed period. Agricultural research, technical assistance and extension services
account for only a small proportion of agriculture-specific spending; however, their shares of this
expenditure increased in the second half of the period analysed.
Payments to agents in the agri-food sector account for the remaining 40 percent of agriculture-specific
expenditure. Within this category, the majority of expenditure consists of payments to producers in the
form of input subsidies, particularly subsidies for capital formation (including support for purchasing
machinery and equipment, investments in irrigation and access to credit), as well as for variable
inputs and on-farm services. There is also some expenditure for income support to producers, but this
accounts for a very small proportion of agriculture-specific spending. Other payments to agents in the
agri-food sector include payments to consumers (mostly in the form of food aid and cash transfers),
payments to processors and payments to traders, but those also account for a very small proportion
of agriculture-specific spending. There are no payments to transporters or suppliers of inputs.