The Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has placed the spotlight on Mali’s upcoming 2026-2027 rainy season farming campaign during a recent Council of Ministers meeting. While acknowledging the strides made by national entities like the Malian Agricultural Research Institute (IER) and the Chemical Industries of Mali (ICM) in producing certified seeds and fertilizers, Sonko also highlighted persistent structural challenges hindering the country’s food sovereignty goals.
Strengthening seed autonomy, credit access, and storage infrastructure
Identified as critical priorities by the Prime Minister are the recurring shortfall in seed autonomy, quality inconsistencies from the last campaign, gaps in producer targeting systems, and barriers to agricultural credit access. Sonko further emphasized the outdated farming equipment maintenance and the critical lack of storage infrastructure nationwide. To address these issues, he mandated the acceleration of digitalization in the agricultural supply chain—a strategy already yielding promising results in pilot regions such as Tivaouane and Nioro. In the interim, state agencies must enforce strict cost transparency and ensure the timely distribution of inputs across all regions until a comprehensive subsidy overhaul is implemented.
