An old poster promoting tourism in Mali hangs like a shadow on the wall in an office on the third floor of Agriculture Hall. It bears the faces of two young African kids and a message in French — “Children of the world come see us.”

John Staatz, an agricultural economics professor at Michigan State University, points to the image and explains, “That picture reminds me every day why I come to work.” He says that food security and nutrition is an issue of social justice, one that at its core must provide enough food for children.

“This isn’t a 9-to-5 job. You’ve got to get it right,” he says.

The professor leads a set of agricultural research projects in West Africa, with funding totaling $7.5 million, aimed at improving the performance of West Africa’s food system. Researchers, farmers, traders, government officials and non-governmental organizations are all part of a collaborative effort to improve agricultural productivity and access to food in Mali and other countries in West Africa. MSU’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics has received approximately $23 million in grants and contracts to conduct research and development projects in West Africa since 1985.

The U.S. Agency for International Development provides $4.5 million of the current funding for the work in West Africa. The Washington, D.C.-based agency provides non-military assistance with emphasis on philanthropic efforts worldwide. Other donors include the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Economic Community of West African States and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N.

Mali’s population in 2006 reached nearly of 12.7 million is comparable to Illinois’s current figures. Its landscape is similar to characteristics seen just east of the Rocky
Mountains — most of the country is dry, and rainfall is variable. Consequently, soil is frequently exhausted, lacking nutrients and fertility needed for crop production. The country sits on a weak natural-resource base, where its people depend on an agricultural system that’s directly linked to those resources.

Despite being dealt a poor geographic hand, Mali has been an independent, democratic nation for 18 years. In March 2009, the Malian food security commissioner, Lansry Nana Yaya Haïdara, approached the university with an interest in reorienting the country’s food marketing policies. She organized a retreat to brainstorm solutions. Around 30 people from governmental to private sector positions gathered for a day of discussion, including Staatz, who was the only American in attendance. Ten leaders were named to organize and report recommendations to the commissioner — including Niama Nango Dembélé, the head of MSU’s office in Mali.

Goals of MSU’s food security program in Mali are twofold. The first is improved agricultural market integration, where communication and sustainable food production methods are linked within Mali and throughout the West African region. The second is strengthening the capacity of organizations to carry out such work in the future—as exemplified by MSU’s effort with the Malian faculty to create a degree program in agricultural economics and train a new generation of food policy analysts and private entrepreneurs in the country.

Another example of capacity building is MSU’s work with townships throughout the country to design and implement their own local food security plans. The MSU work is built upon partnerships with local institutions, ranging from the Malian Chambers of Agriculture to the local university. A popular reproach in Mali translates as, “That guy talks too much,” meaning that the person is inclined to promise too much without having the know-how to deliver. Staatz emphasizes that the MSU team’s first job is to avoid that criticism by listening first to truly grasp the problems that face the region. “If you want to be effective in this work you have to understand problems from their perspective,” he says.