Mali targets an 83% increase in rice production to achieve food self-sufficiency

A strategic objective for food sovereignty

Mali’s ambition is to increase its national paddy rice production to 5.5 million tonnes, from the current level of around 3 million tonnes, an increase of 83%. This production leap is part of a broader policy of food sovereignty, aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on rice imports and, ultimately, achieving self-sufficiency.

A ten-year plan supported by international partners

To achieve this goal, on April 17, 2025, the Malian government launched a National Forum to finance the National Program for Scaling up the Intensive Rice Growing System (PN-SRI). This 10-year program, steered by the Ministry of Agriculture with the support of German cooperation GIZ-Mali, will mobilize 14.1 billion CFA francs (around $24.4 million).

The Malian government plans to cover 60% of the financing, and is calling on technical and financial partners for the remaining 40%, according to an official press release.

An economic and regional opportunity

Mali, West Africa’s third largest rice producer after Nigeria and Guinea, already covers almost 80% of its milled rice needs, estimated at 2.3 million tonnes per year between 2022 and 2024. However, imports are still expected to reach 420,000 tonnes in 2025, according to forecasts by the US Department of Agriculture.

If the PN-SRI is properly financed and implemented, the country could not only fully meet its own demand, but also export its surpluses to regional markets, thereby strengthening its role in West African food security.e justice for genocide, a move that runs counter to the Trump administration’s stated support for Benyamin Netanyahu‘s Israeli government. This position has reinforced Washington’s irritation with its former partner to the south.

A united response from South Africa’s political class

In the face of this pressure, President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the unanimous support of South Africa’s political class. According to the presidency, the two heads of state recently spoke on the phone, and a face-to-face meeting is reportedly being prepared to ease tensions.