Athena Infonomics, in collaboration with Development Gateway (DG), conducted an assessment of Mali's digital agricultural ecosystem. The assessment sought to enhance awareness of current digital solutions in Mali's agriculture sector and advocate for the sector's potential.

Context

Over 80 percent of Mali's population is engaged in agriculture and associated activities, making this sector crucial for human and economic development. Despite the magnitude of the agricultural sector, food insecurity remains rampant in Mali. Statistics from 2016 indicate that nearly 25 percent of families were food insecure while nearly 40 percent of children under the age of five suffered from malnutrition

Mali's agricultural sector also faced challenges such as limited smallholder farming, access to credit and vulnerability to climate change, hindering its growth.  

Project Overview

Our assessment aimed to understand Mali's national context, policy framework, and readiness for promoting ICT tools to address agricultural challenges. Athena utilized DG's Custom Assessment Landscape Methodology (CALM) during the assessment. This methodology combined desktop research, key informant interviews (KIIs), surveys, and data analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of Mali's digital agricultural ecosystem.

Athena played a crucial role in providing recommendations for leveraging ICT technologies in the sustainable development of Mali's agricultural sector. Our focus was on empowering farmers by addressing their needs for a resilient agriculture sector, including better access to technologies, formal credit opportunities, stable markets and improving overall farm productivity.  

Outcome and Recommendations

Athena and DG provided valuable insights into Mali's agricultural landscape, highlighted tangible ICT opportunities that could strengthen Mali's agricultural sector. Athena, through its expertise, provided recommendations to overcome obstacles and enhance ICT adoption in agriculture. These recommendations included:  

• Improving coordination around ICT initiatives in the agricultural sector;
• Implementing sustainable ICT products to respond to stakeholder needs and promote complementary products;
• Articulating mutual accountability mechanisms by empowering local implementing partners and communities; and
• Using ICT technologies to support the different segments of the value chain and lower investment risks.

Key findings from this assessment can be found in the report below. For more information or any questions regarding this assessment, please contact Shruti Viswanathan.

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Photo source: Mark Fischer