Peasant struggles in Mali: from defending cotton producers' interests to becoming part of the Malian power structures

In: Review of African political economy, Band 37, Heft 125

Abstract

This article describes how the organisation and representation of cotton growers in Mali developed from the mid 1970s to the current day, from the setting up of Village Associations through to the privatisation of the cotton industry. The research focused most closely on the relationships between the growers' organisations and the state-owned cotton company, as well as on the different struggles throughout this period. It can be seen that at the same time as peasant participation was increasing, a 'cotton elite' also emerged. Far from reshaping the power structures operating in the cotton sector, this elite appropriated them.