Cotton Sector Development Support Program in the Cotton-4 Countries

The Brazilian government has endeavored to provide decisive support to the efforts of cotton-producing countries in Africa to develop their respective cotton sectors. Brazilian cooperation actions have given priority to the member countries of the Cotton-4: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali.

Notwithstanding the peculiarities of each country, the weakest common links identified in the cotton production chains of the four countries center on (a) control of biological pests; (b) integrated soil management; and (c) management of plant varieties. It is important to note that the technical staff in each of the countries visited has a clear understanding of the difficulties affecting their particular cotton production chains. However, they lack access to the technologies required to execute their activities in accordance with modern agronomic management concepts.

The Cotton-4 countries first raised the issue of food security in their 2003 claim submission to the WTO. The question is one of particular relevance and must be considered in any cotton sector development project, including in terms of income generation aimed at ensuring food purchases.

The principle of sustainability must be at the center of any proposed technical cooperation program the Brazilian government extends to the C-4 member countries. In other words, each project must be developed based on prevailing economic, environmental, and food security variables. If it is limited only to the technological aspects of cotton production, the proposal will not have the desired impact on the lives of citizens in the four countries.

Aware that the cooperation extended by Brazil should stimulate the development of capacities, specifically, the professional improvement of technical staff and institutional strengthening, the proposal drawn up by this agency and Embrapa focuses on a joint initiative by Brazilian and African technical specialists to implement a validation and demonstration unit for cotton farming techniques. Further, the unit will serve as the primary, but not exclusive, site for the related capacity-building programs. The transferred knowledge will be disseminated in selected areas by the participating countries with the cooperation of Brazilian technical specialists, who will supervise the activities of their African colleagues. Management of the unit will ultimately be transferred to the country in which it is implemented upon conclusion of the capacity-building work. The proposal was prepared with the participation of Embrapa. However, other partner entities may be invited to take part in the program.