Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

424 Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential

• The controlled flooding and lowlands rice system, with partial control of water through the erection
  of seawalls, and


• The irrigation system with a total control of water through irrigation schemes.
  These production methods reflect water availability in the country as a major constraint to rice production.

A. Water resources in Mali

Rice production requires large quantities of water. Most of Mali’s water comes from rain that provides

each year on average 415 billion m3 of water. There are large interregional disparities in rainfall, the

south of the country being relatively well off with 1 200 mm of rainwater per year, and the north re-

ceiving less than 100 mm.

In addition to rainwater, the country has two rivers with a high irrigation potential, the Niger and the

Senegal. They alone drain an annual average of 70 billion m3 of water, with 110 billion m3 in a wet

year and 30 billion m3 of water in a dry year.

The other major production factor that needs to be taken into account is the agricultural capital.

B. Land availability in Mali

Areas suitable for irrigation are estimated at nearly 2.2 million ha, with 20 percent already cultivated.

Some of this land is suitable for gravity flow, which reduces production costs. Table 1 shows the

distribution of the land and is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 5. Regional distribution of 2.2 million ha of potential irrigable land in Mali

Source: National Agricultural Directorate, 2009