KEY RESULTS

• Mali’s Ministry of Trade is highly active in mobilizing government contributions for trade. It is among the top least developed countries (LDCs) in terms of government contributions to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). 
• EIF productive capacity support in Mali has helped fund three sectors (mango, gum arabic, shea). The gum arabic and shea sectors are particularly successful because, before the EIF’s collaboration with the Government of Mali, there were no national associations for these sectors. The EIF technically assisted in the development of a national shea actors' interprofessional association at all levels of the value chain and helped sustain it through an ongoing process.

Mali, a vast African country with drylands spanning 60% of its land area and a population of nearly 25 million, faces challenges that include desertification, political instability, insecurity, and a food-insecure population. Yet the country saw opportunities to address some of these challenges by investing in the trade potential of agricultural products grown, harvested, and processed by some of its poorest communities.

Mali entered into its Aid for Trade (AfT) partnership with the EIF's predecessor, the Integrated Framework, in 2003. It began the process of developing a roadmap for pro-poor trade, resulting in the framework, the Diagnostic Trade Integrated Study (DTIS), the 2015 DTIS Update, and the establishment of the EIF National Implementation Unit (NIU) in 2007. 

Over the course of the partnership, Mali has recorded many achievements, including the integration of pro-poor trade into several policies and strategies. It has successfully strengthened the capacity of small producers in several priority sectors, particularly gum arabic, shea, and mango farmers, and strengthened its capacity to mobilize financing from other actors. Its ownership and commitment to making inroads to sustainable trade for development are evident, given the volume of its own financial resources it has contributed.

Leveraging Aid for Trade commitments

The Government of Mali’s ownership of the EIF programme stands out as one of the best examples of co‑financing. The Ministry of Trade has demonstrated a remarkable ability to mobilize government contributions for trade, positioning Mali as the top country in terms of government contributions to the EIF, with over USD 11 million in counterpart funding secured so far against the total EIF support of USD 7.2 million. 

This high level of engagement reflects Mali’s commitment to fully integrating trade into its national development agenda. Since the EIF's inception, the Government of Mali has consistently served as the main implementing entity across all phases of EIF projects, with the sole exception being the DTIS Update, which was led by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Raising trade’s prominence for systemic change

With the support of the EIF programme, trade now plays a more significant role in the country's national development strategies and policies. For example, trade has been strengthened in the Strategic Framework for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Development (CREDD 2019-23). Trade has also been introduced as a specific component in eight separate national strategies: the Poverty Reduction Strategy (2012-2016); the National Development Strategy (2016-2018); and the Agriculture, Environment, Industrial Development, Business Development, Transport and Quality, and Food Safety Strategies. This integration ensures trade will be mainstreamed across all sectors in the future.

Further, all of Mali's diplomatic missions now include a trade component in their communication at various fairs and forums.

According to Dansiné Coulibaly, NIU Coordinator: 

Raising farmer profits, empowering women, bettering the environment

The EIF’s support focused on bolstering Mali’s efforts to develop the shea, gum arabic, and mango sectors, unlocking new opportunities for economic development and community empowerment.

The gum arabic project has achieved remarkable success in increasing the revenue of producers, collectors and exporters across six regions of Mali. Used mainly as a stabilizer in the food industry, as well as in printing, paints, and cosmetics, among other applications, gum arabic collected from acacia trees supports more than 350,000 producers in Mali, most of whom are women and youth. With an overall budget of USD 6.68 million, including USD 3.62 million of EIF funding, the project has led to a significant rise in exports, which grew from around 5,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to almost 12,000 metric tonnes in 2020. Another striking impact has been the increase in the price of high-quality gum arabic. Before the project’s intervention, the price per kilogram was approximately FCFA 300, but by the project’s end, it had risen to more than FCFA 1,000—a more than threefold increase. This surge in prices, coupled with the project’s outreach activities, has sparked genuine enthusiasm for gum arabic production among local communities.

In addition to rehabilitating acacia trees from which gum is extracted, the project provided training in collection and marketing, procurement of equipment, and facilitated the participation of Malian exporters in international trade fairs. The project also set up a guarantee fund worth FCFA 424 million (approximately USD 678,000) to facilitate loans for industry players. There are now more than 180 cooperatives (SCOOP) and over 30 SCOOP unions advocating on behalf of producers, collectors, and exporters for the development of the gum arabic sector.

This environmentally and climate-conscious project has received an additional USD 40,000 from the government. Planting acacia trees not only increases revenues but also contributes to the African Union's (AU’s) “Great Green Wall” initiative, which aims to halt the further advancement of the Sahel. The AU initiative seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030. Mali has demonstrated improved forestry management throughout the life of the gum arabic project, including the rehabilitation of two nurseries covering 10,000 hectares. Information and training on the protection of gum arabic have sensitized nomadic pastoralists, who previously engaged in excessive cutting of acacia trees to feed their livestock.

Coulibaly highlighted an unexpected social impact: 

Results from the shea and mango sectors have been similarly impressive.

Exports of processed shea butter, mainly produced by women-led enterprises, increased from 310 tonnes in 2020 to just over 3,800 tonnes in 2022. Beyond its use as butter, extracted from the kernel and widely utilized in food and cosmetics, the shea fruit also provides highly nutritious flesh for human consumption and serves as valuable cattle fodder. Additionally, shea trees play a crucial role in combating desertification, further emphasizing their environmental significance.

In addition to the EIF-supported project, Mali is further benefiting from a regional project implemented by the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) in partnership with EIF and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The project also covers Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Together, these four West African countries represent 61% of shea exports worldwide.

Mango exports grew from 10,000 tonnes in 2020 to just over 27,000 tonnes in 2021, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Support to the sector has focused on training, the implementation of a quality management system, orchard treatment, standards certification, and market development.

Organizing for success

Given the high international demand for shea, the Government of Mali prioritized EIF funding for the development and support of a national association for sector stakeholders (producers, processors and traders/exporters) to support all levels of the value chain. The goal is to boost the incomes of producers in this women-dominated sector and provide information and training support.

The national association was established at a gathering in early 2023, which brought together shea producer representatives from six regions, along with the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family through the African Development Bank-supported Project for the Economic Empowerment of Women in the Shea Sector Subsector; the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP-Mali); the private sector; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and other stakeholders in the shea sector. Before the EIF’s collaboration with the Government of Mali, there was no national association for the shea industry. 

Research suggests that women producers working collectively can achieve higher-quality products, greater productivity, increased income from sales, and better access to and control over credit. Associations can also play an important role in increasing recognition of women as economic actors.

A lesson in sustainability and systemic change

Mali provides a lesson in sustainability and systemic change for other LDCs on the path to pro-poor trade. Its focus on targeting some of the poorest communities for production for export is paying off. The results are inclusive and holistic, benefiting not only a broad range of stakeholders—from small farmers to processors and exporters—but also protecting the fragile environment and helping to build the organizing power of women producers and enterprises.

The payoff is even greater considering the government’s increased capacity to mobilize support from other funding partners and NGOs to grow and sustain its ambitions.

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As the second phase of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) comes to an end in 2024, the objective is to produce a catalogue of impact stories showcasing the efforts of the EIF partnership in the least developed countries (LDCs) and recently graduated LDCs where it has been actively engaged. This impact story makes up one of the stories in the catalogue. Essential input and reviews were received from the country‑based EIF National Implementation Units (NIUs) and the wider EIF team. 

The primary objective of each impact story, as well as the entire catalogue, is to adopt a journalistic approach in recounting the EIF's engagement in the LDCs during both Phase One and Two. The aim is to offer valuable insights and to document outcomes and impacts, as well as some lessons learned from the work of the EIF partnership in the LDCs. These stories do not provide a comprehensive overview of every aspect of EIF partnership engagement such as precise timelines or the exact extent of involvement (i.e., financial contributions). Instead, they serve as one of several means of information about the work of the EIF partnership. Interested readers are encouraged to supplement these impact stories by consulting other sources, including EIF Annual Reports, Trade for Development News articles, EIF social media channels, and, where applicable, the NIUs in the LDCs as well as the EIF Executive Secretariat.

It is essential to acknowledge that the information provided is neither exhaustive (e.g., it is based on the latest available data at the time of writing in 2023) nor evaluative in nature. 

Lastly, while each impact story adheres to a similar structure, the diverse range of countries, contexts, and EIF engagements means that each story is unique.