Niono

Niono is a town in Mali's Ségou Region and the capital of Niono Cercle, one of the region's seven cercles. It sits on the northwest edge of the Inner Niger Delta, about 65 km from the Niger River's main channel.

Niono is a key town of the Office du Niger irrigation scheme, established in the last decades of French colonial rule and continued by independent Mali. Water diverted at the Markala dam, 35 km downstream of Ségou, flows north for about 65 km through the Canal du Sahel to irrigate the flat alluvial plains around Niono, part of the so-called "Delta Mort" (Dead Delta). Though the French built the scheme to grow cotton, the dominant crop today is rice — the Office du Niger area produced roughly 320,000 tonnes of rice in 1999/2000, around 40% of Mali's total production.

By Plane

The nearest airport is Bamako (BKO IATA).

By Road

Niono is reached by road from Ségou via the Markala dam and the Office du Niger canal corridor.

• Office du Niger irrigation zone — the canal-fed rice paddies surrounding the town

• Markala — the dam that feeds Niono's irrigation canals
• Sokolo — further along the canal system to the north
• Ségou — regional capital
• Bamako — national capital