Instead of 12,500 CFA ($25), in 2013 the new Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, said he made the decision to drop the price of subsidized fertilizers to 11,000 CFA francs ($22). According to president Keita, the Malian economy is supported by agriculture, which represents 36 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for 85 percent of the Malian population living out of big cities.

The drop in fertilizers price aims to reduce poverty in rural areas, as it can help farmers to produce more. The new price is supported by a 2014 campaign for agricultural development. In addition to poverty reduction, the government hopes that through the increase of farmers’ incomes, the plan will improve food security and combat malnutrition on a broader level.

Cheating with Farmers

Cotton Producers, who mainly live in the South of Mali, are supposed to be among those who will benefit the most from the reduction of the price of subsidized fertilizers. Meanwhile, some observers see the government’s decision as a political act that will fail to improve the conditions of Malian farmers.

According to Coulibaly, the average yield of cotton is one ton per hectare. A farmer needs four bags of fertilizers per hectare, which represents only a benefit of 6,000 CFA ($12). The loss in cotton price will lead farmers to lose 9,000 CFA (around $18) per ton.

“If you just need one or two bags, it may not be an important loss. But those who have to buy several tons of fertilizers cannot accept this. They can purchase much more with the amount t they will lose,” Ousmane Kone, a cotton producer of Bougouni, in the South of Mali, told AFKInsider. He was disappointing to find out that the 50 kilos (110 lbs) bag of fertilizer weighs around 45 kilos (99 lbs).

Other farmers complain about the quantity of the fertilizers they buy from some middlemen they accuse of stealing them.