(Ecofin Agency) - Mali expects to produce 3.14 million tons of rice during the 2018-19 season, an increase by over 7.5% compared to the previous season’s figure (2.92 million tons). This was revealed by the minister of rural development.

According to Commodafrica which reports the information, this growth is due to an increase in the output rather than the expansion of cultivable lands. It will also be spurred by the availability and efficient use of fertilizers and seeds.

The rice sector is one of the successful sectors in Mali which is West Africa’s second-largest rice producer (behind Nigeria) and one of the few self-sufficient countries in rice within Africa.  The cereal is mainly grown along the Niger River, in Ségou, and in Mopti.

Let’s recall that there are two main phases in the Malian rice season: a production phase that runs from May to October and a marketing phase that runs from October to March.

Espoir Olodo