Organization and Performance of Cotton Sectors in Africa ... - infoDev

CHAPTER SIXInput Credit and ExtensionDavid TschirleyConcern about input credit provision has long been at the center ofdebates regarding cotton sector reform in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).This concern is understandable in light of the widespread failure ofinput and, especially, credit markets in SSA. 46 The ability to supply large numbersof farmers with input credit and extension and to recover that credit wasthe driving force in the spectacular expansion of cotton production in Westand Central Africa (WCA) from 1955 to 1995. That ability was made all themore impressive by the region’s poor agro-ecological conditions. Such provisionhas also been a necessary condition for reestablishing cotton in Mozambiqueafter its civil war and for the crop’s rapid expansion in Zambia since1994. The typology in chapter 4 was heavily informed by this issue, suggestingthat more-concentrated sectors would be best able to ensure provision andrepayment of input credit and some level of extension advice, while bothwould likely be undermined by side selling in more competitive sectors. It wasfurther suggested that monopolies would perform well on input provision andrepayment, while the adequacy and efficiency of the input and extension packagemight deteriorate over time by not adapting to changing conditions. Thecountry case studies confirm these general hypotheses while providing detailand nuance that are relevant to sectoral policy discussions. This chapter brieflydiscusses approaches to and performance of input credit and extension acrossthe eight countries, 47 organized around the typology of chapter 4, before closingwith general lessons learned.73