ACA envisages African cotton output at 5mn tons by 2020

14 Mar '14

2 min read

The African Cotton Association (ACA) envisages the continent’s cotton production to touch 5 million tons by 2020 from the current production level of 1.5 million tons, Abidjan.net reported.

In his speech at the meeting on ‘African cotton faces the challenge of climate change’ in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast, ACA acting president Salif Abdoulaye Cissoko said the five-year strategic plan 2011-16 could significantly improve the production of cotton in Africa provided the Governments effectively play their role.

He urged the African governments, sub-regional organizations and the African Union should support the ACA so that it can improve the productivity and competitiveness African cotton.

For Africa, cotton is a powerful tool for improving macroeconomic indicators, but the sector faces many difficulties, Mr. Sissoko said.

In his capacity as technical advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, N 'Golo Coulibaly, said the meeting would help in promoting the sound management of climate by stakeholders in the cotton sector, especially when the world cotton production is seeing a steady decline.

Noting that African cotton is essentially rainfed, Mr. Coulibaly said achieving the objective of growing 5 million tons of cotton by 2020 necessarily involves the rational management of the climate change phenomenon by all stakeholders in the cotton value chain.

He said with 1.5 million tons or 6 percent of the world cotton production, African cotton is less competitive despite its undeniable technical quality.

He mentioned the steps taken by the Ivorian Government for the promotion of the cotton industry, including ensuring remunerative prices of at least 60 percent of the CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) to growers, which has resulted in increase in cotton production in the country from 260,000 tons in 2012 to 350,000 tons in 2013.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India