Economy

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Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world with an average per capita annual income of approximately US$200.  Although only 2% of the land is considered cultivatable, most of the economy is agricultural.  A main source of this is the dependence on the cash crop cotton, which accounts for one-third of the population's livelihood.  The Malian cotton industry has suffered as of late due to subsidies to foreign, industrialized countries, enabling them to have a distinct advantage on pricing. Subsistence crops included maize, sorghum, and rice.  Cash crops include groundnuts, fruit, vegetables, peanuts, and rice (along the Niger River).  Most of these crops are grown in the south, where the Niger and Senegal rivers are found.  Income can also be generate by seed cultivation, seed collection, and multi-funcational platform. Mali is now the third largest gold producer in Africa (after South Africa and Ghana).  Cotton and gold account for 80% of Mali's export revenue.  Mali also has iron, hospates, salt, and limestone.  Mineral resources that have yet to be tapped into are iron ore, bauxite, manganese, lithium, tin, copper, diamonds, and iron ore.  Malian industries include processing farm commodities, manufacturing basic goods, and construction.  Mali's main imports include machinery, construction materials, and petroleum.  Most of Maly's economy is privatized and deregulated. Mali has received much aid from other countries, and has been able to have its debt cancelled due to its poverty status.  France is Mali's main trading partner, with imports equalling exports.  Mali a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a multi-national economic organization. Nobody is excluded from this project.  Nobody is excluded from growing, harvesting, selling, pressing, sedimenting, or filtering oil.  Since jatropha can grow on land that has no other uses, it does not require additional land and there should not be land tenur issues.  No jobs will be jeopardized, and new opportunities will be created.  Overall, jatropha is adding value to the village and will ensure sustainable production and longevity.

The Mali Project Group Engineers Without Borders Design That Matters Mali-FolkeCenter

The currency in Mali is the Communaute Fancier Africaine franc (XOF) distributed by the Central Bank of the West African States.

For More Information Contact Marie-Claire Munnelly

EWB-USA hold no affiliation with political, religious, or commercial institutions.

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This page was last updated September 2006.  We welcome or comments and suggestions.  Please send messages and inquiries regarding page content and layout to Marie-Claire Munnelly