Sunday, July 12, 2020
Violence in Mali Quells Local Agriculture (Ben Isaacs)
The first image (dated 23 August 2017) shows an area in the agricultural region of Mopti in Mali, with farm fields shown in shades of beige and natural vegetation in darker shades of green. Villages are pinpointed with yellow stars. The second image (dated 18 August 2019) captures the exact same region as in the 2017 image, but the landscape has changed drastically in the space of just two years. No more is the beige patchwork of fields that covers most of the region; now farmland is restricted to areas within the immediate vicinity of the villages, about two kilometers in radius. Elsewhere, natural vegetation (dark green) has grown over the unused farmland. The reason for the disappearance of much of the region's farmland is due to ethnic violence between the Dogon and Fulani peoples, as well as the presence of Islamist militias in Mopti since 2017. Venturing too far from the village can mean venturing into another ethnic group's lands, where militias pose a threat to the safety of ordinary farmers.
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