(a) Malawi Growth Development strategy I (2006–2011) and II (2011–2016), which
have been the overarching national development framework; (b) National Agriculture Policy Framework (NAPF) 2010–2016; (c) Agricultural Sector Wide Approach
(ASWAP) 2010–2014; (d) Green Belt Initiative 2011–present; (e) National environmental Policy 2004 and (e) Malawi Energy policy, 2003.
Burkina Faso
Cotton was produced in Burkina Faso during the pre-colonial times as a secondary
crop by family farmers. During the colonial period, cotton was produced in a top–
down technocratic system that treated poorly these cotton smallholders (Vitale
2018). However like many other countries Western Africa, Burkina Faso
re-oriented its economy towards cotton production in the post-colonial period.
Despite some variability, cotton output increased sharply, from a few thousand
tonnes in the early 1960s, to more than 370,000 tonnes in the late 1990s (FAOSTAT
2019). In the early 2000s, sudden cotton price drops precipitated a large decline
across the sector, leading the country to insolvency. However, despite price volatility
and concerns amidst stakeholders about the sector’s viability (Vitale 2018), cotton
output reached record levels in the early 2010s at more than 400,000 tonnes
(FAOSTAT 2019). Up to the early 1980s, output gains materialized largely through
the huge yield improvements catalysed by the introduction of animal traction and
agricultural inputs (Vitale 2018). However, as yields leveled off in the mid-1980s, it
has been cotton land expansion that caused the increases in output (World Bank
2013).
Economic growth has been perhaps the major driver of cotton production in
Burkina Faso. Indeed cotton is the main agricultural commodity produced in the
country and has historically constituted a substantial fraction of the GDP. On
average cotton export revenues have accounted about 2.5% of GDP over the past
decade, offering a stable source of foreign exchange that has catalysed economic
development in other sectors (Vitale 2018).
Since independence and up until the early 2000s, SOFITEX (a government
parastatal company) and CFDT (a privately owned French company) had complete
control over cotton processing and marketing. In this “one-stop” cotton farming
system SOFITEX provided on credit all of the production inputs to growers and
maintained exclusive rights to purchase the seed cotton from farmers (Vitale 2018).
A series of economic failures influenced major donors to push for reforms in the
sector including among others: (a) changes in the laws for establishing farmer groups
(1994, 1996–1999), (b) the establishment of the national cotton union (UNPCB)
(1996–2001), (c) the partial privatization of SOFITEX (1999), (d) the delegation of
major responsibilities from government and SOFITEX to UNPBC (2000–2006);
(e) the introduction of new players in the sector such as private input providers, new
regional private cotton monopsonies (SOCOMA, FASOCOTON) and private transport companies (2002–2006) and (f) changes in price-setting mechanisms to reflect
better the prevailing global circumstances (2006–2008) (Kaminski 2009). Currently,
3 Linking Industrial Crop Production and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa:. . .
103
have been the overarching national development framework; (b) National Agriculture Policy Framework (NAPF) 2010–2016; (c) Agricultural Sector Wide Approach
(ASWAP) 2010–2014; (d) Green Belt Initiative 2011–present; (e) National environmental Policy 2004 and (e) Malawi Energy policy, 2003.
Burkina Faso
Cotton was produced in Burkina Faso during the pre-colonial times as a secondary
crop by family farmers. During the colonial period, cotton was produced in a top–
down technocratic system that treated poorly these cotton smallholders (Vitale
2018). However like many other countries Western Africa, Burkina Faso
re-oriented its economy towards cotton production in the post-colonial period.
Despite some variability, cotton output increased sharply, from a few thousand
tonnes in the early 1960s, to more than 370,000 tonnes in the late 1990s (FAOSTAT
2019). In the early 2000s, sudden cotton price drops precipitated a large decline
across the sector, leading the country to insolvency. However, despite price volatility
and concerns amidst stakeholders about the sector’s viability (Vitale 2018), cotton
output reached record levels in the early 2010s at more than 400,000 tonnes
(FAOSTAT 2019). Up to the early 1980s, output gains materialized largely through
the huge yield improvements catalysed by the introduction of animal traction and
agricultural inputs (Vitale 2018). However, as yields leveled off in the mid-1980s, it
has been cotton land expansion that caused the increases in output (World Bank
2013).
Economic growth has been perhaps the major driver of cotton production in
Burkina Faso. Indeed cotton is the main agricultural commodity produced in the
country and has historically constituted a substantial fraction of the GDP. On
average cotton export revenues have accounted about 2.5% of GDP over the past
decade, offering a stable source of foreign exchange that has catalysed economic
development in other sectors (Vitale 2018).
Since independence and up until the early 2000s, SOFITEX (a government
parastatal company) and CFDT (a privately owned French company) had complete
control over cotton processing and marketing. In this “one-stop” cotton farming
system SOFITEX provided on credit all of the production inputs to growers and
maintained exclusive rights to purchase the seed cotton from farmers (Vitale 2018).
A series of economic failures influenced major donors to push for reforms in the
sector including among others: (a) changes in the laws for establishing farmer groups
(1994, 1996–1999), (b) the establishment of the national cotton union (UNPCB)
(1996–2001), (c) the partial privatization of SOFITEX (1999), (d) the delegation of
major responsibilities from government and SOFITEX to UNPBC (2000–2006);
(e) the introduction of new players in the sector such as private input providers, new
regional private cotton monopsonies (SOCOMA, FASOCOTON) and private transport companies (2002–2006) and (f) changes in price-setting mechanisms to reflect
better the prevailing global circumstances (2006–2008) (Kaminski 2009). Currently,
3 Linking Industrial Crop Production and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa:. . .
103