Literacy needed for raising cotton productivity in Senegal

03 Mar '14

2 min read

Literacy is an ‘absolute necessity’ for over 65,000 farmers in cotton growing areas of Senegal, Ahmed Bachir Diop, CEO of Textile Fibres Development Corporation of Senegal (SODEFITEX) has said, according to a Senegalese Press Agency report.

Mr. Diop, accompanied by Ndèye Diouf, director of literacy and the promotion of national languages, visited a literacy class being organized by SODEFITEX in Djinkoré village, about six km from Tambacounda.

Diouf said the training conducted by his department is closely related to vocational training.

SODEFITEX director general said the cotton industry is considered one of the most organized industries in Senegal because there was literacy. He said there are cotton growers in the country who can read, write and calculate.

A World Bank study showed that a literate farmer can increase productivity by 15 percent, he noted.

He added that investors are more likely to set up a textile plant in a country where workers are literate.

In 1992, Senegal produced a record cotton output of 50,000 tons, but production declined thereafter.

Last year, the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ (BCI) was launched in the Senegal’s Kolda region for the revival of the cotton sector, after its successful implementation carried out in the neighboring country of Mali. The initiative would help in the revival of cotton growing in Kolda region in three years’ time.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India