Cereal crops choices and economic resilience face to climate variability in southern Mali

Abstract

This study uses the production function approach to assess and compare resistance of millet, Sorghum and Maize facing climate variability in Sikasso and Ségou regions. A robust estimation of the multiple regression models with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was used. Overall, the results show that: one of the major causes of the fluctuations of the chosen cereals' production is climate variability; cereals have different resistance level facing climate variability across regions; finally cereals are more related to climate in Sikasso region than Ségou region. At the sight of these results, setting up following policies was recommended: promotion of production system based on new agricultural practices to increase productivities in different areas and policies which promote ideal cultures for each region's agricultural development (regional specialization)