Cultivating the growth of Mali’s seed sector, more than 300 stakeholders of the region’s seed industry gathered on May 17-18, 2011 to participate in the National Seed Exchange in Sikasso, Mali.  Representatives from the government, seed companies, agrodealers, producers, researchers and breeders, farmers and other international partners attended the two day annual event.

CNFA’s Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali (ASPM) served as a main sponsor of the Exchange and invited eight agrodealers from the Koulikoro and Segou regions to market their products at two of the event’s thirty stands.

Mr. Aghatam Ag Alhassane, Mali’s Minister of Agriculture, expressed his appreciation for CNFA’s sponsorship and met personally with the agrodealers. He encouraged their continued success and expressed his enthusiasm for the CNFA produced National Directory of Agrodealers.

Recognizing the vital importance of CNFA’s work to bolster Mali’s seed sector, Minister Ag Alhassane remarked, “The use of improved seeds contributes to 40 percent increase in productivity and agricultural production.”

The CNFA sponsored agrodealers displayed seed samples such as hybrid and open-pollinated varieties (OPV) of sorghum, millet, rice, maize, cowpea, peanut and fonio, published several procurement offers for seeds in  L’Essor newspaper and sowed new partnerships with seed suppliers with purchase orders for 3MT of certified seed to sell in their home districts.

During event related workshops, CNFA Agricultural Service Officers Mr. Aliou Kassogue and Mr. Karim Diarra presented CNFA’s services and achievements to a large crowd of National Seed Exchange participants.

The Exchange concluded with eight new recommendations emerging to promote Mali’s seed sector including: rewarding the best seed producers, strengthening agrodealers’ presence in the field, building partnerships between the public and private sectors,  reinforcing government subsidies for seeds, and developing production and extension of hybrid seeds.