(Ecofin Agency) - In Mali, deputies have adopted, during an extraordinary session, the bill on agricultural land drafted by the minister of agriculture, Kassoum Denon. The decision should accelerate the process for boosting rural land tenure in the country.

“The bill on agricultural land promotes the implementation of a regulation in the sector which significantly conditions the nation’s socio-economic development. The law considers land issue one of the main challenges of the country’s agricultural policy and should help handle the issue through a collaborative and consensual process which aims to improve land management in Mali,” said Deputy Drissa Tangara, head of the parliament’s commission for rural development and the environment.

“The new bill will complete the legal system related to agricultural land management in our country. Here, we are trying to secure farmers’ lands and to differentiate them from State properties in order to avoid conflicts in rural areas. We also focus on the gender issue in the decision-taking process. Mali has a 2.2 million hectares of developable and irrigable lands. However, so far, 400,000 hectares of these superficies is exploited. Adopting the bill will speed up the development process. Better even, it will spur investments in Mali as it stands as a guarantee for investors. Moreover, it will help put an end to intra-community conflicts thus enabling social dialogue,” said M. Denon.

Souha Touré