Mali’s food stocks, water and pastures under severe stress, urgent livelihood support needed

In a virtual briefing from New York to Member States and humanitarian partners on the situation on Mali, FAO categorically stressed the need to make agriculture and livelihood support a priority.

Support is urgently needed to restore food production at the household and community levels, FAO said at today’s humanitarian briefing on the situation in Mali, convened by Under Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths.

Briefing Member States and partners was Mansour Ndiaye, FAO Representative in Mali. He spoke on how 1.8 million people, mostly rural and dependent on agriculture, are contending with food insecurity, no longer able to get a crop in the ground, and unsure of where their next meal is coming from.

“FAO is particularly concerned about the plight of those peoples who have already been, for many years, contending with food crisis in Mali,” he said, alluding to FAO’s vision for agriculture to offer both an immediate means to halt hunger and a foundation for resilience building and pathways out of crisis.

Also speaking on his recent visit Mali, where he drew attention to the 18 million people in the Sahel on the brink of starvation, Under Secretary-General Griffiths spoke of rising food prices threatening an even steeper upward trend in food insecurity during the upcoming lean season, in Mali and in the wider Sahel region. 

Escalating food crisis: a function of multiple, interconnected drivers

The more than 1.8 million Malians projected to be in high acute food insecurity through the June–August period represent a 41 percent increase compared with the same period last year. Included in this tally are some 770 000 children expected to face malnutrition, including close to 200 000 to face severe acute malnutrition.

The ten-year conflict in Mali has weakened livelihoods, institutions, and resilience, especially in rural areas. Yet, continued instability and increased control of armed groups is further preventing peoples’ ability to move freely, to attend to their fields and animals. Reduced access to humanitarian aid, to regular transhumance routes, and to local markets are also extremely worrying. Already some 400 000 people have been forcibly displaced, many abandoning their fields and animals for good.

This outlook comes on the heels of increasingly recurrent and stronger natural disasters, the ripple effects of COVID-19, and political instability.

Agriculture as a pinnacle of lasting security and peace

With around 80 percent of Mali’s population dependent on agricultural activity and livestock rearing for their livelihoods, “FAO calls for a more systematic inclusion of agriculture interventions in our humanitarian operations,” Ndiaye stressed. 

Agriculture not only needs a more prominent role in humanitarian response to food crises, but it must also be seen as a necessary investment if we are to ensure sustainable and dignified livelihoods for those most in need and to foster lasting peace and security.

“At FAO, we have shown that emergency agricultural assistance is key to avert a deepening crisis – securing food production right where it is needed most, for today, next month, and the years to come,” Ndiaye said. 

He pointed out that if we want to ensure that most people have sufficient food in a context where two-thirds of the population lives in rural areas and where most of the IPC 3+ population lives, supporting agriculture livelihood interventions is vital. Doing so not only sets the pillars to stave off conflict over ever-diminishing natural resources, but it also provides the means to pursue more resilient, innovative, and sustainable ways of producing food.

Agricultural humanitarian response: one of the most cost-effective, life-saving strategies

Ndiaye echoed previous FAO calls for rethinking funding flows for food crisis response and prevention. Against the sobering situation in Mali, FAO is urgently seeking support in mobilizing USD 30 million to assist 990 900 people through the end of this year. To date, there remains a funding gap of USD 17 million.

FAO's emergency agricultural assistance includes seeds, productive tools, fertilizers, livestock feed, and veterinary care. Together, they stand to facilitate rapid nutritious food production, especially when implemented as part of a Cash+ package, meeting immediate food needs in the weeks and months ahead.

In the Malian context, it would take just USD 0.25 to vaccinate a goat against common diseases, protecting this vital food asset that provides a household with 0.5 liters of milk per day. If lost altogether, replacing it in the local market would cost USD 173.

Similarly, with just USD 102 with agricultural inputs, households can produce 1.69 tonnes of nutritious vegetables ready for consumption in 3 to 12 weeks – this same bundle is worth around USD 448 in the local market. Likewise, an USD 143 investment in seed inputs can lead to households cultivating 2.75 ha of land to produce 4.5 tonnes of cereals, worth over USD 1 000 in the local market.

“The cost of action is way below the cost of inaction,” Ndiaye said.

Related links

• Watch the recording of the briefing to Member States and partners.
• Revisit the full statement from the FAO Representative in Mali.
• Access the 2022 FAO Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali here.