Bamako-Mali: A need for an improvement in urban food security
Author: Awa Mangie Achu Samba
Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on: 12/08/2010
Introduction
Food insecurity
has been in the lamp light for decades. About 1.02 billion people suffer from
food insecurity in the world with about 800 million living in Africa (FAO,
2009). According
to the World Food Summit organized in Rome in 1996,
[…] food security exists when all
people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life (UN, 1996).
The urgency and
importance of all humans having a right to food security was spelled out by the
1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating that “everyone has the right to a
standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food…”
Inhabitants of
Bamako, Mali do not yet benefit from these rights. Mali is amongst the one of the
poorest countries in the world. With a population estimated at about 1,
8 million people, Bamako the largest city and capital of Mali and it is
currently believed to be the fastest growing city in Africa (Zijlma, 2010).
Bamako is situated on the Niger River floodplain; the city is relatively flat
with a hot and humid Sahelian climate which is very hot on average all year
round (N’Djim & Doumbia, 1998). Average temperatures each month are
estimated to be over 30 degrees Celsius, with the hottest month being May and
the rainiest months between July and September (N’Djim & Doumbia, 1998). About sixty
percent of its population lives in poverty; the main source of livelihood is
agriculture with main agricultural products being cotton, millet, rice, corn,
vegetables, groundnuts, cattle, sheep, and goats (Zalle, Meite, & Konate,
2005). According to the Food and Agricultural Organization,
[…] over eighty percent of
dietary energy consumption is from cereals, twenty eight percent of Malians are
undernourished. Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are common; in 1996
thirty three percent of children suffered from stunting and 25% from wasting.
The UN has projected that the population of Mali could increase by forty nine
percent between 1996 and 2015, which will further strain already deficient
resources (USAID, 2008).
Food insecurity
has been on the increase with several factors causing this. This paper then
looks at the cause of urban food insecurity in Bamako, it also brings out some
elements of what is being done and what needs to be done to curb this trend.
Causes of food
insecurity
According to the
United Nations World Food Program
[…] Mali has exhibited strong
developmental potential in the educational, agricultural and health sectors.
While many of its neighbouring countries have experienced political turmoil,
the political stability allowed the Government to develop strong national
policies and programmes such as the ALO (Agricultural Law of Orientation), the
Rice Initiative, an upcoming national school feeding programme, and a national
protocol on fighting malnutrition (UNWFP, 2009).
These
initiatives are not adequate enough to end the wide spread of food insecurity
in Mali on the whole and Bamako in particular. Several factors account for
this.
Climate variation
Mali
on the whole is located on the southern edge of the Sahara desert. Urban
agriculture is faced with extreme dry conditions and extensive climate
variability – features impacting food security greatly. Butt et al, 2004
in their article “The economic and food security implications of climate change
in Mali”, reported that
[…] climate change projections
from the Hadley Center Coupled climate Model (HADCM) and Canadian Global
Coupled Model (CGCM), suggest that by year 2030, Malian average temperatures
may increase by 1 degree centigrade to 2.75 degrees centigrade, with precipitation
declining slightly… this climate change would likely impact agricultural yields
negatively as it would cause reduced soil moisture, faster depletion of soil
organic matter, pre-mature drying of grain, and increased heat-stress. Changes
in yields, all other things held constant, would lessen food production and
consumption, worsening food security conditions.
It is believed
that extreme meteorological events, such as spells of high temperature, heavy
storms, or droughts, disrupt crop production. Temperature change, drought,
floods, loss of land and desertification are all elements impacting
agriculture.
Climate change will modify
rainfall, evaporation, runoff, and soil moisture storage. Changes in total
seasonal precipitation or in its pattern of variability are both important. The
occurrence of moisture stress during flowering, pollination, and grain-filling
is harmful to most crops and particularly so to corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Increased evaporation from the soil and accelerated transpiration in the plants
themselves will cause moisture stress (Rosenzweig, 1995).
According to the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
the Niger River also is an
important source of fish, providing food for riverside communities; the surplus–smoked,
salted, and dried–is exported. Due to drought and diversion of river water for
agriculture, fish production has steadily declined since the early 1980s
(USAID, 2010).
Population
Increase
Urbanization
rate in Mali was estimated in 2008 at 32% of the total population (FACTBOOK,
2010). Increase in population of Bamako is as a result of rural urban migration
from drought stricken areas (NWE, 2009). This tripled the size of Bamako’s
population between 1960 and 1970. The city mayor’s statistic report ranked
Bamako in 2006, as the sixth fastest growing urban area on a list of 100
cities, growing at a rate of 4.45 percent each year (City Mayors, 2007). Apart
from migration, the constant increase in birth over deaths is a stepping point
of the population growth. Birth rate is estimated at 46.44 births/1,000
populations as compared to 14.96 deaths/1,000 population with a growth rate of
2.594% (FACTBOOK, 2010). This increase is as a result of an improvement in
medical facilities and expertise. According to Durand (1967) the increase in
population growth is as a result of “an improvement in the conditions mortality
which has enhanced the multiplication of these species.”
This massive
increase has put the Bamako District is under stress with a subsequent increase
in the number of slums. Lack of space on the left bank has led to recent
population growth on the right bank of the river exposing them to several
natural disasters, poor sanitary, water and health hazards (WSUP, 2009).
Economic changes
Food prices have
been on the raise in Bamako. Several factors account for this such as financial
crises, low yields, and inadequate access to food by poor households in
particular. The Food and Agricultural organization reports that “an increase in
food prices is fuelling the food crisis, especially in Mali, Mauritania and
Niger, where millions of people are at risk of food shortages (afrolnews, 2008)”.
According to Food and agricultural report,
The availability of food is determined by
domestic production, import capacity, existence of stocks and food aid. Access
to food depends on levels of poverty, purchasing power of households, prices
and the existence of transport and market infrastructure and food distribution
systems. Stability of supply and access may be affected by weather, price
fluctuations, human-induced disasters and a variety of political and economic
factors (FAO, 2008).
Import capacity
was hampered with the “2002-2003
closure of the main import/export route to the port of Abidjan (USAID, 2009).”
The
increase in the cost of living in Bamako has reduced the purchasing power of
the city inhabitants. According to the journal of the international cost of
living,
Bamako has an overall cost of
living index which equates it with high cost of living locations. The overall
cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the
same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups[1]. Bamako is
currently ranked 37 overall, most expensive places in the world (International
Cost of Living, 2010).
The high cost of
living coupled with the an increase in food prices as a result of inadequate
supplies contributes to Bamako insufficient food supply.
Landownership
Landownership acts as a major threat to
food security in Bamako. The conflict between land for construction and farm
land is constantly on the rise. According to Zalle, Meite & Konate, “insecure
access to land is one of the threats to farming in the city, mainly due to the
conflict between land for construction and land for farming. The former almost
always gets the upper hand despite the fact that agriculture and market
gardening are included in town planning” (Zalle, Meite, & Konate, 2003).
With
specific regards to Mali, Zalle et al (2003) add that
In
Mali, land without a (determined) owner belongs to the State, and the State
determines land regulations, sharing out, and re-allocation of spaces (even
agricultural ones). More than 75% of farmers in Bamako do not own the land they
cultivate. Nowadays, it is very hard to find vacant lands in Bamako. Landowners
find it more profitable to transform their farms for construction purposes, and
rent the buildings, which is more profitable and less risky than agriculture.
However, producers may have access to land through (mostly temporary) loans,
renting (which is expensive), or customary estates (Zalle, Meite, & Konate,
2003).
High rents on agricultural lands because
of high rents push prices of food products to rise as well as only those who
can afford for lands to cultivate do purchase the lands. This has reduced the
number of farmers and production thus limiting food supply.
Water insecurity
The most productive farm lands lye along
the
banks of the Niger River between Bamako and Mopti. This area is most important
for the production of cotton, rice, millet, corn, vegetables, tobacco, and tree
crops. It is also important source of fish which is sold as well as exported.
Unfortunately, water from the Niger is used for irrigating about 80,000
hectares of land for rice and sugarcane production; with one-third of Mali’s
paddy rice is produced at the Office du Niger.
The Niger River
is a key to
agriculture and irrigation in the
region, further proving drinking water for people and livestock, rich fishing
grounds and a traffic artery for major cities, such as Bamako … the Niger River is facing a great danger of extinction due to
heavy silting and pollution… Most of the sewage, household waste and
industrial wastes produced in Mali’s capital Bamako ends up in the river. Due
to the irregular rainfalls in the region, large extractions of water for
irrigation and households and submissions of polluting particles, the
ex-majestic river is turning ever more shallow (afrolNews, 2009).
The effect of
this will mean an increase in the pollution of the river with its consequences
on the farming and fishing as well as health and water usage for any form of
activity.
What is being
done?
The food
security issues in Mali on the whole and Bamako in particular has called the
attention of several international organizations and the government of Mali.
International
organizations:
Several international organizations are working to improve food security in the
cities. The United States Government has given substantial food aid to
supplement food shortages. However, will this aid remain forever, will the
country on the whole and Bamako in particular depend on aid which is constantly
on the decrease as well as destroying local opportunities for food production.
From the IRIN news report of April 20th 2010, it states that “the government and some NGOs say they are short of funding to
adequately scale up an emergency response to the needs of 629,000 people who
face food insecurity.”
This shows that
much effort needs to be put in both by the government and the communities
themselves.
Government of
Mali: So far the government has “[ …] assured financing from the African
Development Fund (ADF) to enhance its silt control programme in the Niger River
basin… totaling US$ 20 million and today, the Fund has approved of a new grant
of US$ 4.3 million for the programme” (afrolNews, 2009). Also, the government
has developed good policies such as the Agricultural Law of Orientation (ALO),
the Rice Initiative, an upcoming national school feeding program but to what
extent can these policies be implemented and was the development of these
policies carried out by all stakeholders that is with the inclusion of such as
non-state actors.
In terms of how
can this process be achieved, I will propose participatory democratic
governance, the institution of community gardens and improvement in
agricultural technology usage.
Community
gardens:
Though individual gardens exist in Bamako, a coordinated garden for a community
on spaces not being occupied or abandoned. Government planning should integrate
gardens in the town planning. Schukoske (2000) states that
[…] the development of community
gardens has led to the beauti?cation and greening of many neighborhoods
and has fostered a spirit of community cooperation. Social policies such as
the promotion of health and welfare, economic development, education, youth
employment, and tourism are consistent with the operation of community gardens
and logically require a degree of continuity of place and participants.
For this to be
sustainable, the role of the government and the community is essential in
making sure that the land is not used for personal or alternative purposes.
Food grown here should be shared amongst inhabitants of the community and where
surpluses exchanged with other communities no able to produce the same
products.
Participatory democratic governance: Participatory
governance involves all persons be they poor, illiterate, literate, rich,
marginalized or whatever category in the planning of the city. John Gaventa
cited in Hordijk (2005)
suggested in 2001 that
[…]
a key challenge for the twenty-first century is the construction of new
relationships between ordinary people and the institutions – especially those
of government – that affect their lives… rebuilding these relationships implies
working on both sides of the equation: going beyond approaches that focus on
either civil society or on the state, and instead focusing on their
intersections… the need for a fundamental rethinking of the ways in which
citizens’ voices are represented in the political process, and a
reconceptualization of the meanings of participation and citizenship in
relation to local governance. This, in turn, implies that we have to be willing
‘…to learn about the outcomes as we go along.’
It is then
essential to redefine our thinking on who is to be on board decisions which
concerns the wellbeing of all. Therefore,
[…] building new relationships
between the governors and the governed is not only about rethinking the meaning
of citizenship and creating new deliberative spaces, but also about a dynamic
process of learning and about bridging the knowledge gap (Hordijk 2005).
The integration
of all stakeholders will not only improve on the wellbeing of urban inhabitants
but will go a long way to improving that of rural communities. That is to say
the priorities of each socio-economic group will be redefined hence limiting
the rate of rural-urban migration especially those who migrate for economic
reasons. This will likewise address the issue of land ownership as there will
be an increase awareness on the handicaps of land acquisition for agricultural
practice.
Appropriate
agricultural and water management technology: The use of technology will mean
working in collaboration with research institutions to develop culturally
acceptable, accessible and affordable farm products which are appropriate for
the region for example drought resistant seeds. Appropriate mechanisms are
needed to carry out an integrated management of the water resources likewise
adapting to climate change variations. Also improvement in transportation
networks to reduce the cost of transportation of food from the periphery or
neighboring communities to the city.
Conclusion
Food security in
urban areas has become an increasing worry of both the government and the
international communities. This is as a result of the increase of poverty in
Bamako as a result of increase population without a corresponding improvement
in infrastructural facilities, climatic variation and low income generating
activities. It is therefore imperative to address these pressing issues not
strictly from a state point of view but from an integrated or participatory
approach irrespective of the conditions of the people involved improved
technology and community garden so all my live in decency and dignity.
Footnote:
Bio: Awa Mangie Achu Samba hols a Master’s degree in Environmental Security and Peace from the Univesity for Peace.
