The River Niger is important for the transportation of goods as well as the irrigation of land. Much of Mali is desert and Sahel with only two per cent suitable for crops. Twenty-five per cent is meadow and pasture land. Although so little of the land area is arable, eighty per cent of the population are employed in agriculture and fishing. Farming is mainly at a subsistence level.
Crops cultivated are millet, rice, sorghum, corn, sugarcane and mangoes.
Cotton is grown for export. Livestock rearing is an important sector of the economy and provides profitable exports for Mali. The Niger and Senegal Rivers are also important food sources because of their fish stocks. Gold is another export and other minerals mined are iron ore, uranium, zinc, phosphates, salt and diamonds. Manufacturing industries are relatively small and underdeveloped in Mali.