Mali

Our impact

Context

Mali is a historic country of intervention for Socodevi, with an active presence in the country’s main agricultural regions. Projects focus on the socio-economic empowerment of rural women, climate resilience, the development of agricultural co-operatives, food security, and improved access to health services and agricultural insurance.

Objectives and expected results

  • Improve access to health care
  • Sustainably increase food security, incomes, and living conditions for rural populations in Mali, contributing to economic growth.
  • Modernize and intensify agricultural, livestock, and fisheries value chains (production–post-harvest–processing–marketing/exports) through innovations, equipment, and targeted investments.
  • Strengthen the structuring, governance and performance of organizations (co-operatives, unions, associations) so they can deliver effective services to their members (management, planning, business development, tools).
  • Develop collective entrepreneurship and economic inclusion for youth and women through integrated support (training, advisory services, financing, follow-up) and the creation/consolidation of collective enterprises.
  • Improve market access and competitiveness through quality, certification (fair trade/organic), storage, traceability and processing (e.g., shea, sesame, rice, cowpea).
  • Strengthen access to agricultural finance and financial protection mechanisms (credit, innovation/equipment funds, guarantees, crop insurance) while reinforcing financial institutions and insurers.
  • Promote gender equality and environmental sustainability, notably through women’s leadership, literacy/financial literacy, access to productive resources, and climate-smart practices.

Sectors of activity

  • Access to health insurance
  • Food security, rural development and economic growth
  • Agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries value chains (production, processing, post-harvest, marketing, certification)
  • Organizational strengthening and co-operative development (governance, member services, capacities)
  • Collective entrepreneurship and employment (youth, women)
  • Agricultural finance and risk management (credit, guarantees, funds, crop insurance)
  • Gender equality and economic empowerment (leadership, literacy, access to resources)
  • Environment, resilience and climate-smart agriculture

Results and impacts

In summary

  • For over twenty years, Socodevi has supported the transformation of rural Malian communities through a series of landmark projects, each contributing to major and lasting change. At the beginning of interventions, agricultural co-operatives were poorly structured, women had limited access to resources and decision-making, and producers faced high climate and economic vulnerability. Thanks to Socodevi’s support, the situation has evolved significantly.

Strengthening women’s and youth empowerment

  • With the Dou Touloma project, more than 91,000 women and young people received support to strengthen their economic empowerment and well-being. The project also increased women’s participation in co-operative governance: today, 85% of participating women farmers take part in their household’s economic decision-making, and 91% of trained women apply climate-smart agricultural practices.

Improving co-operative governance and services

  • The Dou Touloma and Feere Diyara projects helped structure nearly 100 co-operatives and unions, implement computerized accounting systems, and develop tailored marketing plans. Supported organizations have 61% more members and have 74 operational post-harvest and packaging facilities and equipment, increasing storage capacity by 140%.

Food security and climate resilience

  • The Feere Diyara project helped reduce poverty among 24,000 producers, improving access to collective services, marketing infrastructure, and quality products. Post-harvest losses decreased, product quality improved, and rural family incomes rose thanks to co-operative leverage.

Access to agricultural insurance and financial services

  • Through the FARM and INCLUSIF projects, producers gained access to tailored financial services and agricultural insurance, reducing vulnerability to climate shocks and supporting the sustainability of their activities.

Rural infrastructure development

  • Several projects enabled the construction and rehabilitation of market gardening schemes, agri-food processing centers, and storage facilities, improving productivity and food security for rural communities.

Health, rights, social and economic inclusion

  • The Plurielles project supports women and adolescent girls in the Kayes and Kita regions by strengthening access to sexual and reproductive health services, implementing actions to prevent gender-based violence, and supporting the economic reintegration of survivors.More specifically, Plurielles helps improve the availability and quality of healthcare services for women and adolescent girls while strengthening their economic inclusion by enhancing the management and economic performance of the co-operatives in which they are involved. The project also promotes their enrolment in and use of health insurance.With a 95% enrolment rate, participation in the health insurance scheme has become a major driver of change by reducing financial barriers and, within its first year of implementation, significantly increasing the use of healthcare services, including the number of visits and consultations, among women and adolescent girls in the areas covered by the project.

Testimonials

“Thanks to discussion groups and trainings, I changed my behavior toward my family members. I involve my wives in decision-making, which has strengthened harmony and family cohesion.”

  • Sékou Diabaté
    Member, Benkadi Co-operative of Kendia-Dioila

“Actively participating as the secretary of my co-operative, speaking in front of men and in public—this is what I am now able to do thanks to the knowledge the project passed on to us.”

  • Sokoma Koné
    Sabati Co-operative, Zantiébougou

Projects in Mali

DOU TOULOMA

The Dou Touloma project, implemented by Socodevi, CECI, and UPA Développement international, aims to strengthen the socio-economic empowerment and well-being of women farmers in the regions of Koulikoro, Sikasso, and Ségou, Mali. It helps reduce barriers that limit women’s economic advancement in a context of climate change. The project supports women-led co-operatives and agricultural unions […]
  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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PLURIELLES

Through a multisectoral approach that combines health, human rights and economic empowerment, the PLURIELLES project enables women and adolescent girls in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, particularly survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), to benefit from tailored services, improved access and enhanced support throughout a safe continuum of care, including prevention, medical care, legal assistance and […]
  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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Partners

Funders

  • Global Affairs Canada (GAC and WFP)

International and consortium partners

  • Santé Monde
  • CECI
  • UPA DI
  • DID
  • Avocats sans frontière Canada (ASFC)

Contact

Mali Office
Sotuba, near the IER, Bamako
(+223) 93 18 26 47

Countries where we work

Colombia

In Colombia, Socodevi has been supporting for more than a decade the professionalization of rural economic organizations, the upgrading of the cocoa value chain, and the strengthening of agricultural and financial services, with a consistent focus on gender equality and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples. Our interventions cover the entire value chain—from inputs and production […]

  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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Vietnam

Vietnam is a country where Socodevi has been active for more than two decades, working to strengthen the co-operative sector, improve rural livelihoods, and promote both social and economic inclusion. Projects focus on diversifying and increasing income, improving co-operative governance, supporting women’s entrepreneurship, and promoting biodiversity.

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Niger

In Niger, Socodevi has been working for over a decade to strengthen food security, women’s empowerment, and climate resilience. Interventions cover Tahoua, Niamey, Agadez, and six other rural regions, in partnership with national and international institutions. Projects aim to improve access to resources, food security, gender equality, and communities’ adaptive capacity in the face of […]

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