Options pour la croissance économique du Mali à travers l’application des sciences et technologies à l’agriculture

Recognizing that science and technology research (S&T) is one of many inputs into the broader development process, USAID/Mali, via its Initiative to End Hunger in Africa, requested an assessment of the current S&T situation in Mali. USAID asked the assessment team to produce a comprehensive strategic options plan for a Malian S&T agenda that would identify priority short-term actions to stimulate uptake of S&T results likely to make significant contributions to the attainment of Mali’s broad development goals, while simultaneously developing a coherent longer-term action plan to maintain and improve the human, physical, and financial capital needed to generate future streams of S&T results. The scope of work for the assessment team included six points: • Review the current status of agricultural and natural resource programs of Mali’s research institutions, with particular attention to IER, IPR/IFRA, LCV; • Review and assess the programs of International Agriculture Research Centers (IARCs) and other international foundations supporting research in Mali; • Annotate the range of USAID-supported S&T programs in Mali; • Identify available production technology packages and needed support services to achieve rapid (medium-term) impact and identify gaps in S&T programs that hinder attainment of GRM development goals; • Develop a strategic options plan to build needed S&T capabilities, including those for research and supporting institutional development; • Make recommendations for potential USAID/Mali actions, including building partnerships with public and private organizations that would enhance the effective use of S&T for achieving USAID programmatic goals