Posted on 03.04.2023 at 09:32 by Fatoumata Maguiraga
The cotton sector in West Africa is regrouping in order to better face its challenges. It is within this framework that the Regional Organization of Interprofessions of the Cotton Sector of the Member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (ORIC-UEMOA) was born on March 21, 2023 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. .
The interprofession, which brings together producers and cotton companies from WAEMU countries, currently includes the four major producing countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Senegal and Togo, which participated in the Constitutive General Assembly, will become members when they set up their respective interprofessional organizations.
This interprofession, whose objective is to improve the competitiveness of the cotton sector, will also allow WAEMU to have a single interlocutor and will facilitate decision-making as well as the dissemination of information. “I think it can be an interesting platform to reflect on the challenges facing African industries. Instead of everyone staying in their own corner and relying on their achievements, we can perhaps begin to share these achievements and direct the lines of research according to the challenges, pooling efforts, “said Jean-François Touré, Chief Executive Officer. of Seco and President of the Professional Association of Cotton Companies in Côte d’Ivoire (Aprocot-Ci).
Common challenges
This pooling comes at a particularly complex time for the sector in West Africa. Indeed, the area recorded a drop of around 20% in its production during the last campaign. A drop partly due to an attack by Jassids which affected the countries of the sub-region. Precisely, against this new invasion, they had envisaged common measures to face it.
Like this issue, which concerns both producers and cotton companies, other aspects, such as the cost of inputs, varietal research, the local development of organic fertilizers or the certification of cotton will be examined in common within the framework of this organization. In addition, among the objectives assigned to the regional interprofession are the sharing of information, the improvement of productivity or even the vital issue of cotton processing.
In Mali, where the Jassid invasion was responsible for 90% of losses, production forecasts of 810,000 tonnes have been revised downwards and are estimated at 526,000 tonnes during the past campaign.
