Segou Region

Ségou Region hosts the Office du Niger—Mali's agricultural keystone—an irrigation system diverting Niger River water across 600 km² of rice and sugarcane cultivation that produces approximately one-third of national paddy rice. This colonial-era infrastructure investment established path dependencies that continue shaping Malian food security seven decades after independence. The irrigation system represents ecosystem engineering: massive modification of natural hydrology to create artificially productive agricultural zones in otherwise marginal Sahelian conditions. Rice grown extensively along the Niger between Ségou and Mopti feeds both domestic consumption and export, though Mali remains a net food importer due to population growth outpacing agricultural productivity gains. Security threats have reached even this critical agricultural zone: in August 2025, the mayor of Dogofry was shot dead by suspected Dozo hunters, demonstrating how traditional self-defense groups have become vectors of violence rather than community protection. The route between Bamako and Ségou faces growing attack risk, threatening the logistical connections that move agricultural output to markets. The Office du Niger's scale creates vulnerability to single-point failure: attacks on irrigation infrastructure could cascade through food systems affecting millions.