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

208 NOTES47. Benin is not included in this review because the complexity and uniqueness of itssystem does not lend itself to the general lessons we seek in this review.48. Some of Burkina Faso’s reported production is due to seed cotton coming over theborder from Côte d’Ivoire and other countries, spurred by the unrest in Côted’Ivoire and high prices paid by SOFITEX.49. Though Uganda has been classified as a hybrid sector, it is included in the discussionhere with Tanzania under competitive sectors because its competitive structuresince reform has created problems very similar to those found in Tanzania and hasdriven the types of hybrid institutional set-ups described earlier.50. Seed has so far been included in the system but there has been debate as to whetherit should be removed in the future.51. More detail, see Tschirley, Poulton, and Boughton (2008) and Poulton and Hanyani-Mlambo (2007).52. Cargill purchased Clark in 2006.53. A sharp appreciation of the Zambian kwacha from late 2006 through May or June2007 was also a major factor.54. See concept of loss aversion in behavioral economics, in which “the disutility of givingup an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it” (Kahneman,Knetsch, and Thaler 1991: 194).55. In the international market, cotton is priced in U.S. cents per pound. One cent perpound is equal to 2.2046 cents per kg.56. Growing fewer varieties in a country makes it easier to maintain homogeneity ofquality, though proper controls (as in Zambia) and good classification can ensuregood performance even when several varieties are grown.57. Assuming that the whole crop was sold on a given day.58. Actual season-average contract prices can be different from these theoretical averagesdepending on the timing of sales. In addition, final average realized prices candiffer from contract prices depending on the actual quality and weight shipped andon eventual claims. Nevertheless, these calculations represent the current best estimatesof average market quality premiums earned by each country’s sector.59. It is common for five or more buyers, all with their own buying posts, to be in a singlevillage. Companies either hire enterprising local residents to run buying postsat harvest time or contract with the staff of the local primary cooperative society tobuy on their behalf. Finding trustworthy agents is sometimes a challenge in itself,without adding quality control to their responsibilities.60. International firms feature more prominently in the Uganda sector than in Tanzania,but there are still plenty of local firms in the market.61. Some farmers, principally those delivering to smaller companies, also began to engagein the kind of opportunistic practices seen in Tanzania. COTTCO and Cargill’s buyingoperations allow them to trace seed cotton back to the farmers who sold it to them, sothey have been less affected by these practices. However, even they report a dramaticincrease in foreign matter found within seed cotton bales and have had to employadditional staff members to sort through all bales before they are sent to the gins.62. For some years, the NCC was chaired by a representative of one of the oil processors,ensuring that sector policy protected their interests, as well as those of ginnersand producers.63. Demand for cake in Zimbabwe would certainly have been strong in the 1990s, whena strong commercial livestock industry existed.64. Agricultural research in Africa is overwhelmingly funded by the public sector andat much lower levels than in developed countries relative to the agricultural sector’s