Mali’s ambition is to increase its national paddy rice production to 5.5 million tonnes<\/strong>, from the current level of around 3 million tonnes, an increase of 83%<\/strong>. This production leap is part of a broader policy of food sovereignty, aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on<\/strong> rice imports<\/strong> and, ultimately, achieving self-sufficiency<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n 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)<\/strong>. This 10-year<\/strong> program, steered by the Ministry of Agriculture with the support of German cooperation GIZ-Mali<\/strong>, will mobilize 14.1 billion CFA francs (around $24.4 million)<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n The Malian government plans to cover 60% of the financing<\/strong>, and is calling on technical and financial partners for the remaining 40%<\/strong>, according to an official press release.<\/p>\n\n Mali, West Africa’s third largest rice producer<\/strong> after Nigeria and Guinea, already covers almost 80% of its milled rice needs<\/strong>, estimated at 2.3 million tonnes per year<\/strong> between 2022 and 2024. However, imports are still expected to reach 420,000 tonnes in 2025<\/strong>, according to forecasts by the US Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n\n 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<\/strong>, thereby strengthening its role in West African food security.e justice for genocide<\/strong>, a move that runs counter to the Trump administration’s stated support for Benyamin Netanyahu<\/strong>‘s Israeli government. This position has reinforced Washington’s irritation with its former partner to the south. <\/p>\n\n In the face of this pressure, President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the unanimous support of South Africa’s political class<\/strong>. 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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nA ten-year plan supported by international partners<\/h3>\n\n
An economic and regional opportunity<\/h3>\n\n
A united response from South Africa’s political class<\/h3>\n\n