Mali in focus

20.11.2015 – Mali is one of the world’s poorest countries and is suffering from the impacts of a serious political crisis. GIZ is working on behalf of BMZ to create long-term prospects for the population. GIZ staff members are not affected by the attack on a hotel in Bamako.

In the farming hotbed of Mali, agriculture is one of the population’s key income sources. For example, in the Beledougou region north of Bamako, the country’s capital, rice and vegetables are cultivated. These products play an important role in supplying the country’s food. German development cooperation has supported the farmers in significantly increasing their income from agriculture significantly. Small dams and weirs, which provide the fields with water even well into the dry season, are key to the project. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is advising the farmers on irrigation and enhanced cultivation methods. As a result, they can now sell more rice and vegetables at the local markets. In Beledougou alone, this benefits around 6,500 people.

Economic development and stability require effective, service-oriented municipal administration. GIZ has been providing training and advisory services in this field since 2002. For example, the authorities are now able to rapidly and easily convert small businesses into formal companies rapidly and easily. In addition, over 90 per cent of local governments organise their own administrative procedures and can therefore offer supply their populations with fundamental services and commodities such as health care, water and energy supply at affordable prices.

GIZ is promoting the distribution of cost-effective solar power systems to provide more people with access to electricity – a basic requirement to enable development. The systems are now in place in 40 municipalities, where they supply 45,000 people with power. Furthermore, the partnership with GIZ is providing 90 local facilities such as schools, health centres and town halls with solar energy, benefiting around 240,000 people in total.