The Niger is the longest river in Western Africa and the third biggest in the African continent. It is only exceeded by the Nile and the Congo. Millions of people depend on this river for agriculture, fishing and commerce, and it is also a principal source of household water. Mali, Niger and Nigeria are the principal countries that depend on this river, but another seven countries in the region also depend on it. The river is extremely fragile and is being impacted by reservoir construction and pollution contamination. Experts say that the volume of Niger has decreased by one third in the last three decades. Others says that the change of the flow is a consequence of climate change.

In Mali, the river expands around a huge delta, that takes the principal farming zone of Male and one of the humidity parts more important of the region. Here is where “Office du Niger” is situated and where a lot of projects of parking zones are.”Office du Niger” has more than 70 thousand irrigated hectares principally for producing rice. This system of irrigation is the biggest in Occidental Africa and uses substantial part of all the part of the river, especially during the dry station.

Malibya, a subsidiary get a concession of 50 years renovable, that cover 100 thousand hectares in “Office du Niger”. The Mali government give free the ground with illimited access to the water for a little quote of use. In 2009, Malibya have finished a irrigation canal 40km long. That one starts in the same point that feeds all the rice camps of “Office du Niger”. These little canals, used by the farm women in the zone, where closed when Malibya canal were constructed.

In 1990 FAO stated that the potential of irrigation of Mali cames form Niger in more than half thousand hectares. But now, because of the scantiness of water some experts says that Mali only have the capacity of irrigate 250 mil hectares. The Mali government have give 470 mil hectares to foreign companies in Libya, China, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and some other countries that stay actually in the Niger hollow. ¿Is that hidro colonialism?

The truth is that Nigerian people needs water from Niger to survive. A Wetlands International study estimates that due to the effects of climatic change and infrastructure projects, more than 70% of the flood plain of the Niger will be lost , with dramatic consequences for Mali and agricultural requirements for producing foodountry. The most impacted will be the farmers and pastoralists who depend on the river for their livelihoods.