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

may not be able to solve the underlying problems. For example, if closing theyield gap using existing technology requires additional investments in farmers’asset bases (biological, physical, and human capital), then additional resourcesbeyond technical research and, indeed, from outside the cotton sector may beneeded to achieve high yields. Improved technology, such as Bt cotton seed orweedicides, as part of an integrated pest management strategy may reducesome management requirements for asset-poor farmers, but technology mayalso increase the farmers’ perception of risk from higher costs for purchasedinputs. A first step toward defining the role of research in improving yields willbe to understand the causes of low productivity in specific agro-ecologies andfarm types to determine the mix of investments necessary. For the most assetpoorcotton farmers, an important contribution of research may be to identifymore profitable alternative crops or off-farm activities for them to take upinstead of growing cotton.COTTON RESEARCH ORGANIZATION AND PERFORMANCEThe organization and financing of cotton research is highly dependent on thehistorical context at both regional and country levels. In Francophone WCA,cotton research reflects a long history of investment by the former French cottonresearch institute IRCT (Institut de Recherches sur le Coton et les Textiles),with cofinancing at the country level by the former cotton parastatal CFDT(Compagnie Française pour le Développement des Fibres Textiles) and withgood information exchange among researchers in the region. Cofinancing ofcotton research by cotton companies in Francophone countries continued afterindependence, often supplemented by development loans or grants, becausecotton was seen as an “engine of development” that enabled the capitalizationof smallholder farming. The persistence of the parastatal monopoly model ofcotton sector management in WCA countries clearly contributed to organizationalstability for cotton research when compared with East and SouthernAfrica (ESA), in addition to providing farmers with equipment and extensionadvice so they could adopt research recommendations. Most cotton researchprograms in WCA continue to be organized along the lines of individual disciplines,with variety, pest control, and agronomy subprograms. The researchprograms in Burkina Faso and Mali are the only ones in the study sample thatappear to integrate a socioeconomic component on a systematic basis.By contrast, the United Kingdom focused its colonial era research investmentsin regional commodity research programs (Beintema and Stads 2006),but cotton was not among them. Instead, individual colonies were left tofinance cotton research through industry levies in those colonies where cottonwas an important crop for the economy. This problem inevitably led to unevenperformance across countries. However, Zimbabwe and Uganda in particularhave strong traditions of cotton research.106 BOUGHTON AND POULTON