Baba Berthe is the President, African Cotton Association as well as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Malian Company for the Development of Textiles. In this interview, he spoke about the difficulties to develop cotton production in the continent and preparations to host its annual conference in Nigeria next year (2018). Excerpts:
Anthony Maliki
There are challenges with the economy and neglect of agriculture for other resources. But how is cotton contributing to the development of African countries?
I was born in Mali where cotton is contributing to a large extent to the economy. When went to Kenya last year to chair the ACA congress, I and my team travelled by the economy class but we noticed that many of those who buy our cotton, came by private jets. It showed that we have something very important economically that we don’t exploit or know its importance. We produce cotton for others who benefit more. Cotton is a very important commodity but Africa countries didn’t master the price. We don’t know its value.
So the relegation of cotton production in many African countries is huge?
Yes, it is. However in Mali and Burkina Faso, cotton is the main cash crop. They produce, export and earn foreign exchange. After the governments of these countries remove their profit, the balance is shared among the farmers. Gold is also mined Mali and sold but the money is not distributed to the miners but used in some other ways. So cotton is the commodity that can be used in the fight against poverty. Also, in the 2016/2017 harvesting session, cotton production earned $330million for Malian farmers. But, the amount is even little because there was value addition in the process. Besides, shirts that are produced with cotton are very expensive and so many other things. We sell one kilogram of cotton at $1.7cents but those who bought it, process and resell back to us at $25-$30 depending on the value-addition. So, when a shirt is made of cotton, it could be sold at $100. The difference is much. So, it goes to show that cotton represents a high level commodity which can greatly improve the economy of many African countries. The power of cotton to a country’s economy cannot be over-emphasised and that is why we are urging the Nigerian government to resuscitate the cotton industry so that other countries can follow her example.
What is African Cotton Association’s mission to Nigeria?
Since the organization was established, a congress is being held and rotated yearly from one country to another. The March 2015 edition was held in Chad, the 2016 edition in Kenya and at that conference, Nigeria was chosen for the 2018 edition to hold in March. As such, it is important that before the event, the African Cotton Association should visit the next host country and meet with critical stakeholders on how to go about organizing the event. We are here to discuss with National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), stakeholders and the government on how to go start preparations for the conference.
What is the anticipated number of labour that can be generated if the sector is fully developed?
The number of labour that can be created will be difficult to evaluate but we have to note that one company can employ hundreds of hundreds of people in different capacities and sections of the production chain. And don’t forget, we have direct and indirect employments that can be derived. To show how cotton is very important is by looking at the oil extracted from it. In Mali, for instance, there are 80 cotton oil producing mills with about 2.5million litres combined capacity production. Each also has about 500 workers. The multiplier effect is huge.
What is ACA doing to boast technical know-how of production as most farmers still use manual means?
ACA is a very organized association. We do not have funds for companies or member countries for technological development. However, we have seed cotton production, classification, transportation, trading and ginning commissions where experts teach countries on these specialties. Recently, we organized a workshop in Garoua, Cameroon on some technical issues that will lead to the promotion cotton production. These are some of the things we do. In Mali and Burkina Faso many cotton farmers are mechanized but more needed to be done.
With this scenario, how do you see cotton farming and production in next few years?
The concern of ACA is to provide a link with governments of African countries. Every year, we hold a meeting in one country or another. The 16th meeting will be in Nigeria in March next year. We are in Nigeria to prepare grounds for the meeting. We met with ECOWAS and they assured us that they are working on a regional strategy for the promotion of cotton from now to 2025. This is in collaboration with the African Development Bank and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. We also met with the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research but could not meet with state governments as we would have wished. So, it is a strategy to meet high level organisations as a way forward. It is expected that after meeting with ECOWAS department of agriculture, they will make a report to the President of the Commission who will in turn forward it to all the Heads of State. By that, we are pushing our strategy. (Daily Trust)
