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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Agricultural Development Policy and Grassroots Democracy in Mali: The Emergence of Mali's Farmer Movement
Author:Bingen, R. JamesISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:African Rural and Urban Studies
Volume:1
Issue:1
Pages:57-72
Language:English
Geographic term:Mali
Subjects:farmers' associations
agricultural policy
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Development and Technology
Politics and Government
Abstract:In the wake of the March 1991 coup d'état, and emboldened by the success of the May-June confrontations between cotton producers and the transitional government in Koutiala, farmers in Mali called for an Estates General to inscribe their demands on the Third Republic's development agenda. In December, over 300 farmers, herders, fishers and woodcutters convened in Bamako for this singular assembly. Three months later, the goverment published its new Rural Development Schema and incorporated many of the Estates General's demands. By late September 1992, the country's cotton producers launched Mali's first farmers' union, the 'Syndicat des producteurs du coton et des cultures vivrières' (SYCOV), thereby introducing a new, and potentially powerful, popular partner in rural development policy. The viability of SYCOV depends largely on the strength of its constituent groups, the village groups or AVs. This essay suggests that the political significance of the Koutiala confrontations and the establishment of SYCOV stems from identifying how these landmark events represent an evolution in the relationship between the government and some of the country's agricultural producers. The continued political success of farmer movements in West Africa will depend on policies that strengthen producers' technical, managerial, and negotiating skills. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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