Mali, February 2025
The working week on the development of the NRDS II Concept Notes in Mali
Background of the mission
During the period from 24th to 28th February 2025, the CARD Secretariat supported the organization of the Working Week on the development of the NRDS III concept notes in Mali. This Working Week follows the validation of NRDS III, in 2024, process of which was endorsed by CARD. Following the validation of the NRDS III, it appeared urgent to proceed with the development of concept notes in order to facilitate the implementation of the strategy. Several actors among the rice value chain were present during the working week in particular, representatives of the public sector as well as the non-governmental sector.
The overall objective of the Working Week is on the one hand the identification of the segments in the value chain that are poorly taken into account in the ongoing interventions and on the other hand what should be done to reach the objectives of the new NRDS.
Methodology and Opening Ceremony
To achieve this objective, the methodological approach chosen was based on a participatory and inclusive approach divided into three key phases: (i) The first phase was devoted to the opening ceremony and the sharing of the different tools to be used for the development of both the SIEM and the concept notes; (ii) The second phase was devoted for the elaboration of the various concept notes through working group followed by a plenary session of presentations of the results and (iii) The monitoring of the M&E process.
Key outputs/ Results
After presenting the approach, an application exercise was carried out. During this exercise, participants were asked to come up with project ideas following the presentation of the gaps. On the basis of this first proposal, the CARD secretariat has revealed its own proposals. Following this, a cross-analysis was carried out which resulted in the selection of six project ideas which served as a basis for the preparation of the concept notes.
After agreeing on the concept notes to be developed, the participants were divided into Three groups to develop the draft concept notes. The results of the main draft concept notes are summarized in the table below:
| Concept Notes titles | Objectives |
| Project for the Promotion of Irrigated Rice Cultivation (irrigation schemes Development and Intensification of Production) | To contribute to ensuring production in all season while reducing water deficits related to climatic change and improving the efficiency of water use. In this perspective, it is planned to develop nearly 47,448 ha of irrigation schemes in total control of water by 2030 |
| Project to improve governance and financing in the rice sector (contract farming, access to credit) | To contribute to improving the empowerment of RVC actors and making rice cultivation more attractive. Specifically, it will be a question of: (i) strengthening the autonomy of the actors and (ii) strengthening the capacities of stakeholders. |
| Project to support the competitiveness of local rice (marketing, packaging, processing) | Contribute to the competitiveness of Malian rice in order to generate additional shares on sub-regional markets. Specifically, these will involve: (i) reducing post-harvest losses, (ii) improving rice processing, (iii) improving storage, preservation and packaging conditions and (iv) strengthening rice market access (marketing) |
| Project to support the mechanization of rice production systems | To be finalized |
| Improved Rice Seed Production Project | To guarantee farmers the availability and accessibility of improved seeds in the long term. Specifically, it will be a question of: (i) strengthening the production of basic and pre-basic seeds, (ii) intensifying the production of certified quality seeds (R1 and R2) and (iii) making functional the infrastructure and equipment necessary for the production, certification and conservation of basic seeds |
| Project to support land tenure security in rice-growing areas | Contribute to ensuring equitable access for rice producers and other users to well-managed and secure managed land in an environment of good land governance with a view to promoting controlled public, community, individual and private investments in the various production systems for more efficient and viable farming by 2030. Specifically, it will be a question of: (i) Supporting the appropriation of the Agricultural Land Law by the actors of the rice sector and (ii) Contributing to the effective operationalization of the National Agricultural Land Observatory |
At the end of the working group session and the technical validation of the concept notes, it was decided for the next steps to finalize the concept notes by the end of March at the latest in order to start the actions leading to the organization of a round table for the financing of the implementation of the NRDS before the end of December 2025.
On the sidelines of the working week, a meeting was held on M&E activities. It emerged that since the change of the focal point, there had been a lethargy that had led to a halt in actions related to M&E. Giving explanations, the rapporteur had to redo an update concerning the indicators retained and especially what is expected of the TFR. In doing so, the members of the TFR, after understanding what was expected of them, committed to filling in both the Word and Excel sheets before 17/03/2025.
