ABSTRACT
Mali is one of the largest countries in West Africa, with an area of 1.24 million square kilometres, but over half of this is Saharan desert. It is one of the poorest countries in the region, with diverse ecosystems ranging from local forests and grasslands in the south to scrub and scattered vegetation in the middle to eventually none in the north. Average annual rainfall varies from 1200mm in the south to 150mm in the north. The country's agricultural and pastoral potentials, though abundant, were severely affected by the repeated droughts that occurred from 1968 to 1985. In the Sahelian region in the centre of the country, repeated cycles of drought have caused erosion of soil and vegetative cover levels, reducing agricultural and pastoral productivity. This is where since 1987 the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada (USCC) has been operating a rural development programme in Mali, supporting initiatives at the grassroots in Douentza district whose results are reported here.
