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

credit market failures, remain prominent features of rural Africa. It seemslikely that Tanzania’s competitive system has been able to perform as well asit has, in part because of favorable agro-ecological and population settlementcharacteristics. However, a competitive model’s performance could be expectedto be substantially poorer in many areas of WCA, which are less well endowedin cultivable land and soil fertility.Concentrated sectors have performed well on a broad range of indicators.They have scored highly on quality and service delivery (input and extension),have been more efficient than the monopolies, and have also generated attractivevalue added per capita while making the highest contributions to statebudgets through taxes and fees. Yet, since 2000 their performance on seed cottonpricing has been disappointing. As illustrated by the problems caused bynew entry in Zimbabwe since 2001 and in Zambia since 2004, the long-termperformance of these systems is likely to depend on a supportive approach toregulation, something that has yet to be achieved within an African cotton sector(see following text for more details on key elements of such regulation).WAYS FORWARD FOR AFRICAN COTTON:CROSS-CUTTING CHALLENGESIn assessing the performance of African cotton sectors, one must keep in mindthat, while some are faring better than others, on a global scale all are laggingbehind the best performers in the world on one or several dimensions. Thoughthey have expanded their share of the world lint market since 1970, these sectorsface increasing competition, hence low future prices. Competition meansthat they must continually cut costs, raise productivity, and add value if theyare to maintain attractive returns to farmers and to make a positive contributionto national poverty reduction goals. To achieve these purposes, all Africancotton sectors need to improve their performance on critical issues such asimproved research and extension responsiveness and efficiency, technologytransfer in areas such as dissemination of genetically modified varieties, lintquality management and marketing, soil conservation, and technical supportto farmers and farmer organizations. Effective strategies for African cotton sectorsshould, therefore, combine institutional innovations and reforms withnecessary additional investments in key public goods.This section considers various cross-cutting actions that African cotton sectorsshould take to build on their comparative advantages and narrow existingperformance gaps with international competitors. These efforts can be articulatedaround the following three major objectives: (a) achieving greater valuethrough improved quality, marketing, and valorization of by-products; (b)bridging competitiveness gaps through farm-level productivity and ginningefficiency; and (c) improving the sector’s sustainability through institutionaldevelopment and capacity building of stakeholders, as well as strengthening of164 LABASTE, POULTON, AND TSCHIRLEY