African Development Bank to support irrigation project

The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of FCFA 590 million (US $787,000) to finance a feasibility study of a 5,000 ha irrigation development project in Phedie and Sabalibougou, southern Mali, the ADB reported on Thursday. Initially the study will involve a diagnosis of the present situation of the scheme, updating information for the design of development infrastructure, and in the second phase will include additional studies on the future development of the project. "The development of the schemes in the Office du Niger zones, will generate, in the long run, an additional 30,000 tons of rice and 6,000 tons of market garden products. The participation of the communities will ensure the emergence of a viable project. The planned infrastructure will allow wider coverage of food needs through intensified cropping of land," the bank said. The West African country of Mali is landlocked and three-quarters of its population of 10.5 million people depend on agriculture. Rice is an important cereal and constitutes 18 percent of all cereal consumption.