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The Reform of Rice Milling and Marketing in the Ofice du Niger: Catalysts for an Agricultural Success Story in Mali
- Michigan State University Press
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The Reform of Rice Milling and Marketing in the Office du Niger: Catalysts for an Agricultural Success Story in Mali SALIFOU BAKARY DIARRA, JOHN M. STAATZ, AND NIAMA NANGO DEMBELE Introduction One of the great successes of Malian economic policy during the 1980s and 1990s has been the transformation of the rice subsector. Domestic production shot up dramatically, growing at an annual rate of 9 percent between 1980 and 1997, largely due to yield increases in the irrigated area of the Office du Niger. As a result, national rice production more than tripled between 1985 and 1998, from 214,000 m.t. (paddy) to 688,000 m.t. l At the same time, new macroeconomic and sectoral policies transformed the marketing system from a tight oligopoly that extracted rents from both consumers and producers to a competitive system that reduced marketing costs and effectively transmitted production incentives to farmers. The Malian experience in transforming its rice subsector in the Office du Niger (Office) illustrates the importance of combining changes in macroeconomic policy, improved technologies, and the institutional arrangements governing production in order to transform a food system. The liberalization of rice milling within the Office, particularly the introduction of small-scale rice mills, played a crucial role in this transformation , and is the main focus of this chapter. Cereals marketing liberalization continues to be a centerpiece of development programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This chapter seeks to contribute to our understanding of this approach by examining the Malian experience with rice marketing reforms, and especially the role played by small, private rice mills in this process. Following a brief historical overview of the Office du Niger, this chapter focuses on how changes in the rules regarding who could compete in rice milling in the Office combined with technological change in rice production and new macroeconomic policies (particularly the CFA franc devaluation) 167 168 SALIFOU BAKARY DIARRA, JOHN M. STAATZ, & NIAMA NANGa DEMBELE transformed rice production and marketing in the Office. The chapter pays particular attention to the synergies between technological changes in rice production, the introduction of new marketing and macroeconomic policies, and the evolution of institutions governing rice production in the Office on the transformation of agriculture in this region of Mali. Importance of Rice in the Malian Economy Rice is a major staple in Mali, particularly in urban areas, accounting for 16.7 percent of total per capita cereal consumption and 6.4 percent of the total expenses of Malian households in 1988-89. National rice consumption per capita averaged about 34 kg/year in that year, which in absolute terms is third among the cereals after millet and sorghum. Yet in urban areas, rice was the most widely consumed staple, with urban per capita consumption (58.0 kg) more than twice that of rural areas (24.3 kg). Thus, rice plays a strategic role in the Malian economy. Supply shortages or rising prices produce inflationary pressure on wages and have a potential of creating political instability.2 Because of the strategic importance of rice, the French colonial regime and later the Malian government were deeply involved in rice production and marketing until very recently. Rice is produced both in government-established irrigation projects, predominantly along the Niger and Bani rivers, and in lowland-inland swamps (bas10nds), mainly in southern Mali (see Dimithe, this volume). The oldest and largest of the government-established rice production areas is the Office du Niger, which has historically produced nearly half of Mali's domestic rice production and the majority of the domestic rice entering the market. (Much of the bas-fonds production is for home consumption .) In order to understand the importance of the Office in Mali's food strategy , a brief historical overview is needed. Historical overview ofthe Office du Niger The Office du Niger is located along the central delta of the Niger River. The Markala dam (approximately 250 km downstream from Bamako) provides the primary water retention for the Office, while canals provide access to irrigation water from an area stretching northward to Niono and eastward to Macina (see figure 1). The history of the Office dates to the French colonial era of the early 19OOs. After achieving military control of what was called the Soudan in 1890, the colonial administration began using the newly constructed Dakar-Koulikoro [54.224.52.210] Project MUSE (2024-03-30 05:31 GMT) THE REFORM OF RICE MILLING AND MARKETING IN THE OFFICE DU NIGER 169 Mali ---_ ._-- '" -- . -- --- --r_ , \ I TOM...