Vertical integration in West Africa's cotton industry: are parastatals a second best solution?

Tumusiime, Emmanuel; Brorsen, B. Wade; Vitale, Jeffrey D.

doi:10.1111/agec.12135

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…Cotton was introduced in Burkina Faso in the 20th century [14]. Over time, Burkina Faso's cotton sector has seen lots of changes, among them the liberalization of the sector [15] as well as the creation of a special research program dedicated to the improvement of cotton production. Furthermore, in 1998, the National Union of Cotton Producers (UNPCB) was established in order to give farmers a voice in decision making.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ knowledge and opinions towards bollgard II® implementation in cotton production in western Burkina Faso

et al. 2018

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In 2008, the commercial cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) cotton (Bollgard II) started in Burkina Faso. The adoption rate increased rapidly in subsequent years to reach around 70% in 2014. Although some criticisms were raised concerning the suitability of the technology for the farming system in Burkina Faso, the introduction of transgenic cotton in the country was generally regarded as a great success. Despite this, during the 2016-2017 agricultural campaign, the government of Burkina Faso decided to suspend the cultivation of Bollgard II. In this context, this paper investigates farmers' knowledge, perceptions, opinions and attitudes towards Bollgard II as well as their views on the recent decision to suspend its cultivation. Data was collected from 324 cotton farmers, both growers of conventional and Bollgard II. The results showed that the farmers surveyed had a poor knowledge concerning the core concepts of biotechnology and Bollgard II in particular. Moreover, the regulatory oversight of the implementation of the technology was found insufficient, as illustrated by the lack of compliance with prescriptions concerning refuge areas and pesticide treatments. Nevertheless, overall, the farmers interviewed had a slightly positive opinion about the effects on yield, income and their wellbeing. In particular the reduction in pesticide treatments was perceived very positively by all respondents. Although the study finds that the majority of farmers disagreed with the recent suspension of Bt cotton cultivation by the government, it also makes clear that a thorough debate on the technology and its implementation is necessary.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ knowledge and opinions towards bollgard II® implementation in cotton production in western Burkina Faso

et al. 2018

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“…Of these, Sofitex is the largest, covering more than 85% of the land cultivated with cotton and representing about 80% of the national cotton production [31]. At the village level, cotton producers are organized in producer groups or GPC (Groupement des Producteurs de Coton) and the cotton companies provide inputs, such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and technical advice, to GPC, who later sell their cotton to the company at a guaranteed price [33][34][35]. In this system, it is the cotton company that decides which variety farmers grow.…”

Section: Cotton Cultivation and Agricultural Biotechnology In Burkinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ Preferences for Cotton Cultivation Characteristics: A Discrete Choice Experiment in Burkina Faso

et al. 2019

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While a fierce debate about the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified crops is ongoing, it is surprising that farmers are often not consulted. In Burkina Faso, where insect resistant Bollgard II® cotton (further termed Bt cotton) was commercially released in 2008, studies highlight that cotton producers are in general satisfied with the reduction in insecticide use while the economic benefits are a source of controversy. To gain insight into farmers’ preferences towards attributes in cotton cultivation, a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was developed. Five key attributes were identified to describe improved cotton varieties: seed development and provenance, seed costs, yield, required number of insecticide sprays, and preservation of agricultural practices. Farm-gate surveys were conducted among 324 cotton farmers in Western Burkina Faso. The results show that overall, farmers have a positive preference towards yield improvements and a negative preference towards pure private seed development and towards an increase in the requested number of insecticide applications or in the seed costs. According to their varieties at the time of the surveys (Bt and non-Bt), a difference was observed regarding their preferences for a status quo situation, indicating that those growing Bt had a stronger preference to keep the status quo than non-Bt farmers. When dividing the sample in segments based on the farm size, it was shown that there were different preferences with respect to the development of the variety and the required number of insecticide applications. Overall, it can be concluded from this study that economic benefits (linked to higher yields, lower seed costs, or reduced pesticide use) shape farmer’s preferences.

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“…The "old cotton basin", an area situated in the Sudanian agro-ecological zone (Coulibaly, 2003), groups the districts of Koutiala and Dioila and the northern part of the Sikasso district and comprises more than a million of rural people (Traore et al, 2011). This area is characterized by cotton/cereal rotation with use of manure and mineral fertiliser, draught power by oxen, credit for inputs and guaranteed purchase of cotton by the CMDT (Soumaré et al, 2008;Tumusiime et al, 2014). With a biophysical and socio-economic environment similar to the nine study villages, the guidelines generated could be applied throughout this "old cotton basin".…”

Section: Opportunities For Scaling-outmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-learning cycles to support the design of innovative farm systems in southern Mali

Falconnier

Descheemaeker

Mourik

et al. 2017

European Journal of Agronomy

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Farm systems were re-designed together with farmers during three years (2013–2015) in Southern Mali with the aim to improve income without compromising food self-sufficiency. A cyclical learning model with three steps was used: Step 1 was the co-design of a set of crop/livestock technical options, Step 2 the on-farm testing and appraisal of these options and Step 3 a participatory ex-ante analysis of re-designed farm systems incorporating the tested options. Two iterations of the cycle were performed, in order to incorporate farmers' point of view and researchers' learning. We worked together with 132 farmers representing four farm types: High Resource Endowed with Large Herd (HRE-LH); High Resource Endowed (HRE); Medium Resource Endowed (MRE) and Low Resource Endowed (LRE) farms. In the first cycle of 2012–2014 farmers re-designed their farms and the reconfigurations were assessed ex ante using the average yields and gross margins obtained in the 2013 on-farm trials. HRE-LH farmers experienced a disappointing decrease in food self-sufficiency and MRE farmers were disappointed by the marginal improvement in gross margin. In a second cycle in 2014–2015, farmer insights gathered during field days and statistical analysis of trial results allowed a better understanding of the variability of option performance and the link with farm context: niches were identified within the farms (soil type/previous crop combinations) where options performed better. The farm systems were re-designed using this niche-specific information on yield and gross margin, which solved the concerns voiced by farmers during the first cycle. Without compromising food self-sufficiency, maize/cowpea intercropping in the right niche combined with stall feeding increased HRE-LH and HRE farm gross margin by 20–26% respectively (i.e. 690 and 545 US$ year−1) with respect to the current farm system. Replacement of sorghum by soyabean (or cowpea) increased MRE and LRE farm gross margin by 29 and 9% respectively (i.e. 545 and 32 US$ year−1). Farmers highlighted the saliency of the niches and the re-designed farm system, and indicated that the extra income could be re-invested in the farm. Our study demonstrates the feasibility and the usefulness of a cyclical and adaptive combination of participatory approaches, on-farm trials and ex-ante analysis to foster learning by farmers and researchers, allowing an agile reorientation of project actions and the generation of innovative farm systems that improve farm income without compromising food self-sufficiency. The re-designed farm systems based on simple, reproducible guidelines such as farm type, previous crop and soil type can be scaled-out by extension workers and guide priority setting in (agricultural) policies and institutional development. (Résumé d'auteur

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Vertical integration in West Africa's cotton industry: are parastatals a second best solution?

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Farmers’ knowledge and opinions towards bollgard II® implementation in cotton production in western Burkina Faso

Farmers’ knowledge and opinions towards bollgard II® implementation in cotton production in western Burkina Faso

Farmers’ Preferences for Cotton Cultivation Characteristics: A Discrete Choice Experiment in Burkina Faso

Co-learning cycles to support the design of innovative farm systems in southern Mali

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