Mali : SEXAGON
The context: SEXAGON has its office in the town of Niono in the 
heart of the area called “Office du Niger” named after a public agency responsible for the construction and maintenance of canals and irrigation systems. In Mali, rice growers do not own the land they grow and every year they have to pay heavy taxes to the State to be allowed to carry on with their production. They are forced to pay even when the harvest is poor. Otherwise they face eviction.
A project to assist the local population:SEXAGON was founded in 1996 to defend the farmers living in this area against the “Office du Niger” whose decisions has been very often prejudicial to the farmers. Faliry Boly supported by 12.000 other farmers, has turned this union into a powerful tool which cannot be ignored when decisions concerning the area’s develpoment are taken.
A trade union which obtains results: SEXAGON has been able to help the families who had been expelled to regain their land. In more general terms, the union is active in the following areas:
- Land-related issues: land ownership, land insecurity, land shortage, land lease to foreign corporations.
- Rice market: its organization and setting up marketing cooperatives
- Environmental problems: soil salinization, decrese in productivity, land management and deforestation due to the increased land exploitation
- Regular access to high quality fertilizers and equipment in sufficient quantities; access to credits on acceptable terms (today interest rates are high and terms too short)
