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

CHAPTER TWELVEConclusionsPatrick Labaste, Colin Poulton,and David TschirleyImplicit in reform programs in cotton and other sectors in Africa to date hasbeen the notion that structure matters, at least insofar as it promotes orimpedes competition. However, relatively little sustained attention hasbeen paid to the precise structure that postreform sectors could take or why aparticular structure might be preferable. 82 This present work strongly confirmsthat sector structure matters to performance and to the types of approachesneeded to improve performance. At the same time, it recognizes that otherfactors—such as history, managerial competence, geography, politics, macroeconomics,developments in competing or complementary sectors, and even luck—also play roles that cannot be ignored.Despite the financial crisis currently facing a number of cotton sectors inWest and Central Africa (WCA), experts tend to agree that the high intrinsicquality of its fiber, the fact that it is handpicked, and the low unit productioncosts of its smallholder production base still give African cotton importantgrowth potential on the world market in the long run. However, remainingcompetitive and maintaining or increasing market share will require considerableeffort geared toward narrowing existing gaps (in productivity, quality management,and so forth) and building more on comparative advantages. Theseobjectives are important notwithstanding factors beyond the direct control ofSub-Saharan African (SSA) governments and stakeholders, such as the evolutionof the euro/US$ exchange rate and market distortions from subsidies inOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countriesand in China.153