Improved varieties sow a better future in Mali’s groundnut hubs

Published 2022년 1월 7일

Tridge summary

The article highlights a project in Mali, funded by NWO-WOTRO and led by ICRISAT, aimed at increasing groundnut production and improving farm incomes by introducing improved groundnut varieties in the regions of Kayes and Sikasso. The project has successfully increased yield from 1 ton/ha to 2 tons/ha, providing better nutrition and additional income from fodder sales. It has also empowered women by providing them with cultivable land and forming seed cooperatives, leading to significant financial gains and the purchase of agricultural equipment and livestock. The project's success is attributed to public-private partnerships, collaborations with national partners and farmer organizations, and the introduction of mini-mechanization equipment for groundnut processing.

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Original content

Improved varieties are helping increase groundnut production, farm incomes, improving lives and empowering women in Mali’s major groundnut producing hubs of Kayes and Sikasso, where lack of access to such varieties had contributed to low yields of less than 1 ton/ha, well below the global average of 1.6 ton/ha. Over the last three years, ICRISAT has been coordinating the Upscaling improved groundnut varieties through integrated seed systems for improving income and nutrition in dryland Ghana and Mali Project, which is funded by NWO-WOTRO. “By improving the groundnut seed systems to scale up production of improved groundnut varieties, we hope to enhance incomes and nutrition of women and men smallholder farmers in the drylands of Ghana and Mali,” said Dr Haile Desmae, the Project Coordinator and groundnut breeder at ICRISAT-WCA (West and Central Africa). In Mali, groundnut is grown for both household consumption and sale, accounting for roughly half of a rural household’s cash ...

Source: Icrisat