End in Cotonou this Tuesday of a forum led by 400 delegates all stakeholders in the cotton sector, coming from the 4 corners of the world. A forum organized on the occasion of World Cotton Day established in 2014. Benin, Mali, Burkina, Chad and Ivory Coast, the top 5 African producing countries, called the “C4 plus” were on the front line to this Forum to defend African cotton which according to their diagnosis does not benefit the continent enough.
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With our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
African producers took the opportunity to emphatically remind us that Africa does not benefit enough from its white gold. The theme: “ Well-being cotton for all » lent itself to it. The group of the top five producers and exporters of African cotton all regret this reality, which lasts.
They want things to change, national experts have thought about the right strategy. A strategy presented, enriched and deemed relevant during the forum. The first anomaly to correct is the situation of the peasants. When consulted, they formulated a request that the former Malian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Arouna Niang, summarized: “ They want the activity they carry out to be recognized by the market and politicians and for them to have their fair share in sharing the pie. »
Some European experts and traders believe that farmers will earn more by increasing their yield per hectare. Shadiya Assouman, Minister of Commerce of Benin, favors the option of local processing: “ The export of raw cotton cannot be a product of the fight against poverty, but rather the export of processed cotton. »
The processing rate of raw cotton in Africa is low. Within 10 years, it must be increased to 25 or 50% for the most ambitious. Benin dreams of reaching 100%.
The country is in the dynamic of transformation, since 2020, it has created, 45 kilometers from Cotonou, an industrial zone for the processing of agricultural products. This industrial center is set up like a business city.
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