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

Improvements in ResearchPublicly funded cotton research in Africa appears weak but, nevertheless, has avital role to play in helping to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability ofthe continent’s cotton sectors over the long run. This claim is supported bythree arguments. First, many (possibly the majority) of Africa’s cotton farmersare—and will likely remain—too resource-constrained to close the yield gapwith existing technology through more effective and timely management ofweed and insect pests on both their food and cotton crops. Second, if cottonprices continue to decline as a result of productivity increases in other cottonproducing areas of the world, or real food crop prices increase as a result ofglobal demand for plant-based energy feedstocks (a trend that will be aggravatedfurther by migration from rural areas), farmers will find cotton less andless attractive over time with current technology. Finally, soil fertility managementhas become a critical issue in several West African countries and is affectingeven the better endowed soils of ESA, as evidenced by high levels of strigainfestation. Improved cotton production technology, therefore, needs to beembedded in sustainable cropping systems to be socially and economicallyviable in the long run.Improvements in research performance will depend on strengthening internaland external links between researchers and other stakeholders. Externallinks across research organizations are necessary to achieve critical mass, giventhe small size of individual national programs, and to maximize potentialspillovers among researchers addressing common technology constraints andopportunities. Currently, no formal cotton research networks exist in ESA, andthose in WCA are in urgent need of rejuvenation (the West and Central AfricanCouncil for Agricultural Research and Development [CORAF/WECARD orConseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles],for example). This area is a possible one for donor action. With regardto internal links, irrespective of sector type, a high policy priority should be tomove toward greater involvement of ginners and farmers in research management.This approach should institutionalize stakeholder involvement in settingresearch priorities, in monitoring research performance, and in accounting forhow research funds have been used, thereby permitting greater funding ofresearch efforts by the industry through either direct contributions or levies.Ideally, it should allow stakeholders, through whatever management regime isput in place, to appoint and fire researchers and to determine their salary scalesrather than relying on public sector practices and scales.Technology TransferA major technology that is likely to be of particular interest to cotton growersin Africa over the near to medium term is genetically modified cotton. 91 Currently,Bt cotton is by far the most common genetically modified type and themost relevant for Africa, but additional innovations already exist (herbicide170 LABASTE, POULTON, AND TSCHIRLEY