Ansongo is a
rural commune and small town in the
Gao Region of eastern
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
. The town lies on the left bank of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...
90 km south of
Gao. It is the administrative center for the surrounding
Ansongo Cercle. The commune covers an area of 445 square kilometers and in the 2009 census had a population of 32,709.
Geography and climate
Ansongo is located in the southern part of the Gao region. The rural commune of Ansongo was created on 4 November 1996.
It covers an area of approximately 445 km
2 and is mostly located on the left bank of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...
but includes a small area on the right bank.
[ As well as Ansongo, the commune includes the villages of Bazi-Gourma, Bazi-Haoussa, Monzonga, Seyna-Bella and Seyna-Sonrhai. The commune is bordered to the east by the town of Tin-Hama, to the south by the commune of Bourre, to the west by the commune of Tessit and to the north and north east by the communes of Bara and Talataye.] The town of Ansongo has 23 councilors representing numerous parties. Directly to the east of the town is the Ansongo-Ménaka animal reserve, which covers an area of more than 4,300,000 acres (1,750,000 hectares).
The climate is sahel
The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
ian, and is characterized by the alternation of two seasons: a long dry season (October to June) and a short wet season (July to September). The annual rainfall varies between 250 and 350 mm depending on the year. Ansongo may experience major fluctuations in temperature, such as from 15 °C to 45 °C. The commune is overall on a low altitude and the Niger River plays a crucial role in the nature of the commune.
There are two major types of soil in Ansongo, sandy clay soil along the river suitable for growing rice, vegetables and sorghum
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
and the rearing of some livestock and sandy soils that occur in areas away from the river valley, notably the formations of sand dunes between which there are clay depressions. The presence of sand however is sometimes covered by vegetation. Vegetation consists of wooded savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
with dominant species such as ''acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
s'', '' Ziziphus mauritiana'' and '' Euphorbia balsamifera''.
History
In October 2022, large swaths of rural areas where conquered by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara in the Ansongo Cercle causing the local civil society committee of Ansongo and its surroundings to launch 48 hours of civil disobedience.
In November 2023 MINUSMA officially closed its base in Ansongo.
Economy
Ansongo is primarily agricultural. The Niger River is of central importance to the economy although sometimes there is a risk from flooding. Along the river the cultivation of different vegetables is important, as well as growing rice and sorghum. Around 80 percent of the population is employed in agriculture. Livestock is an important activity, and the town is the centre of trading. Animal husbandry includes cattle, camel
A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...
s, sheep, goats, poultry, horses and donkey
The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
s. Dairy products are also important but the lack of processing units in the commune is a problem which may also suffer from various epidemics among animals and humans, water scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...
, and lack of pasture. The Niger River also provides an abundance of fish, and numerous fisheries are dotted along the river. The number of fishermen is increasing due to immigration of people to Ansongo and fish farms have grown in recent years. Crafts are mainly practiced by women, and include domestic leather, basketry, forge, pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
, mats, hides and skins for trade at the market in the town. Some artisans operate in the production of farm equipment, with plows, carts, daba, sickle, picks, shovels, stoves, etc. for sale in which farmers from the surrounding rural area in the commune will buy or trade their goods with.
Trade is important with many Arab Songhai and Tamasheq
Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North and West Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others bei ...
retail dealers, especially by women. Ansongo market trades in basic necessities such as sugar, tea, cereals, tobacco etc. A lot of these supplies are brought in from neighbouring Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, Nigeria, and also from other areas of Mali such as Gao and Bamako
Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country.
Bamak ...
.
Transport
The town is served by Ansongo Airport.
References
{{Authority control
Communes of Gao Region
Communities on the Niger River
Articles which contain graphical timelines