Policy influences agricultural performance in fundamentally important ways. In Mali, a wide range of laws, regulations and programs affect land tenure, water infrastructure and access, plant and animal health, availability of new seed technologies, transport cost, electricity, labor markets, input prices and trade. Together these policy incentives shape the investment, production and marketing decisions of farmers and agribusinesses. Decisions by key private sector actors, in turn, drive agricultural growth trajectories. Sound policies, therefore, become a critical pre-requisite for broad-based, sustainable agricultural productivity gains and improved food security for Malian citizens.