Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will hold a forum on agricultural development in the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) from September 18 to 20 in Bamako, aiming to strengthen regional cooperation for sustainable agricultural transformation and food sovereignty.
Preparations are underway after an organizing committee meeting at Mali’s Ministry of Agriculture, attended by officials from agriculture, livestock, and fisheries departments. Agriculture remains a backbone of these economies, with Mali recording 33.45% of GDP from the sector in 2024, Burkina Faso 18.59%, and Niger around 40%, where nearly 80% of the labor force depends on farming and livestock.
The forum comes as the AES consolidates integration efforts following its creation in July 2024, covering 71.4 million people with a GDP of USD 62.38 billion.
Recent initiatives include a 5,000-strong joint force, a regional investment bank, a common biometric passport, and the removal of roaming charges, alongside the launch of the Alliance of Agricultural Seed Producers of the Sahel (APSA-Sahel).
Against a backdrop of insecurity, climate change, and food import dependence, the Bamako forum is expected to lay the groundwork for structured agricultural cooperation across the Sahel.
