In February 2015, Ms Assétou Kanouté, the national coordinator of the activities of PROFEIS (Promoting Farmer Experimentation and Innovation in the Sahel) in Mali, was named Special Advisor to Ms Assétou Migan, the Malian Minister for Scientific Research. This provides an excellent opportunity to integrate the concepts and approaches of promoting farmer innovation and farmer-led research and development into the agricultural research system in Mali. Assétou is director of the Malian women’s NGO called ADAF-Gallè, which was set up in 1988. In 2007, she became coordinator of PROFEIS in Mali, where she has facilitated the recognition of farmers’ own innovations as well as farmer-led experimentation and has set up a strong partnership with the farmer network AOPP (Association des Organisations Professionnelles Paysannes / Association of Professional Farmer Organisations) and the national agricultural research institution Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER). PROFEIS is the francophone section of the Prolinnova network.
