The proposed project is situated in an onchocerciasis-freed area in the south of Mali, in the Kangaba area of Koulikoro region close to the borders with Guinea and C te d Ivoire. It covers approximately 4200 km2 and has a population of around 80,000 inhabitants who live in 57 villages. The main crops grown are sorghum, maize and rice, together with cash crops such as cotton and groundnuts. With the exception of cotton, traditional production systems prevail with almost no inputs being used.
Average yields vary within the region, but in general productivity has remained low.
The project area has considerable unrealized potential, the main constraints being inaccessibility, primarily due to the lack of road infrastructure and inadequate agricultural support services. Deforestation, overgrazing and soil degradation are also serious problems. The proposed project s main objective is to promote sustainable socio-economic development, improve food security, reduce poverty, raise living conditions of the rural population and promote conservation of natural resources. The project expects to achieve these objectives by encouraging participatory planning of natural resources management at village level, and by testing mechanisms and procedures that would enable local populations to take advantage of ongoing decentralization initiatives and take a more active role in decision-making processes that affect their development. In doing this, the project will use approaches similar to those being used in ongoing land management programmes.