Agriculture is the backbone of the Malian economy. However, the low productivity of the agricultural sector is one of the causes behind poverty in the country, which reaches 54 percent of the population in rural areas. Lack of infrastructure, particularly for irrigation, lack of investments in farm modernization, very low use of modern agricultural inputs and sustainable practices are the main drivers behind this low agricultural productivity.

Mali has considerable irrigation potential, mainly in the Niger River Valley, although only 30 percent of this potential is under irrigation. Several constraints have resulted in such underutilization of productive resources: the high costs of irrigation infrastructure, the limited technical capacities and the lack of funding.

Most poor rural families depend on rainfed agriculture and are therefore highly dependent on climate variability. This often exposes the young population to the migration to urban areas or outside Mali.

In the village of Founia, located in the Kayes region of southwestern Mali, the construction of two dams has greatly contributed to improving the rice and horticultural production of its inhabitants who practice rice cultivation in the lowlands, vegetable and dry crops such as corn, millet, peanuts and beans on the plateaus.

As Bourama Magassouba, chairman of the Djidiandala lowland management committee, Founia, says, "Thanks to these dams we have become a major horticultural producer, we mainly produce tomatoes, onions and mangos. Our partnership with a fruit processing plant allows us to sell all our production, avoiding the loss of part of our crops by rotting. All this contributed to increase the income of our households, to limit the risk of food insecurity and to avoid rural migration ".

However, heavy rainfall dependency is a problem for water availability. Farmers have observed that rains do not fall regularly as before, due to the effects of climate change: poorly distributed rainfalls with early or late arrival of rains and their early cessation have dramatic consequences on agricultural production. Binta Diarra, a farmer in Founia, explains that this year the very early rains fallen in the dry season were more harmful than useful, destroying the young rice plants. In contrast, in case of low flood, the rice does not reach its maturity for a good harvest. It is for this reason that it has become crucial to readjust the crop calendar and consequently to adapt the start of the crop year according to the climate variability. Previous development projects allowed the installation of rain gauges in the village to measure the amount of rainfall and to inform farmers about the best time to start seeding.

Other strategies are also put in place by rural people to cope with increased climate variability, such as the use of improved seeds. Indeed, as Diango Fah Cissé, a farmer in the village of Founia, says, "long-cycle indigenous species no longer adapt to today's situation. We are using more short cycle improved seeds that allow a better yield ".

Heavy rains altered with drought periods also cause soil erosion around the lowlands. It is for this reason that the PAPAM/ASAP project funded by IFAD, helped farmers to build stony barriers to reduce water erosion and soil degradation. In addition, farmers were advised to improve or even change their agricultural practices which could weaken the soil, cause their degradation, bringing the gradual siltation of dam containment, due to land deposit during floods.