Economy, Agriculture

The cultivation of food crops occupies 86 percent of the economically active population of Mali. The main crops are millet, rice, sorghum, corn, and sugarcane. Livestock raising is of major importance; in 2001 the livestock population included 6.2 million cattle, 6 million sheep, 8.5 million goats, and 25 million poultry. Some 2.4 million metric tons of cereals and 480,000 tons of cotton were harvested in 2001. Prolonged drought in the mid-1980s decimated livestock herds and food production.