Cotton production in Chad

Last updated

Cotton is an important crop to the economy of Chad .

Contents

History

Cotton is an indigenous crop to southern Chad. [1] In 1910 the French colonial administration organized market production on a limited scale under the direction of the military governor. [1] By 1920 the colonial administration was promoting the large-scale production of cotton for export. [1] The French saw cotton as the only exploitable resource for the colony and as an effective means of introducing a cash economy into the area. [1] Indeed, the elaboration of colonial administration went hand in hand with the extension of cotton production throughout the region. [1]

France's motives were clear: it sought to ensure a source of raw materials for its home industries and a protected market for its exports abroad. [1] France also intended that taxes derived from commercial ventures within the colonies would offset the expenses of the colonial administration. [1] Therefore, customs duties on cotton exports from Chad, then a part of French Equatorial Africa, were paid to the governor general at Brazzaville (in contemporary Congo), as were duties on exports from other colonies under regional administration. [1] Revenues from a head tax were paid in cash locally and went directly to the lieutenant governor of the colony. [1] Not surprisingly, virtually the only means of earning the money to pay the tax was by the sale of cotton to the French. [1]

In 1928, exploitation of cotton within the colony was placed in the hands of Cotonfran, a private company. [1] Under the terms of the contract between the colonial administration and Cotonfran, the administration maintained a certain quantity of production by the villages, and Cotonfran bought at least 80% of that production. [1] The cotton was ginned locally, but no further transformation was permitted; all the cotton fiber was then exported to France. [1]

The colonial administration fixed the quantity of cotton produced and the price paid to the peasant producer on the basis of calculations furnished by Cotonfran of costs and expectations for the price of cotton on the world market. [1] France reorganized village administration by replacing traditional chiefs with individuals more amenable to the colonial power, which assured the proper cultivation of the cotton crop and the collection of taxes. [1] This system included forced labor and the subordination of growing food crops to cotton. [1]

Production

In 1988, the entirety of Chad's cotton was produced in the five soudanian prefectures of Mayo-Kebbi, Tandjilé, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, and Moyen-Chari, plus the Bousso region of Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture, which juts down into the soudanian zone. [1] Few regions outside these prefectures offered sufficient water and population to sustain cotton production. [1] Moreover, in this land of difficult transport, areas producing a cash crop also needed to be able to grow enough food for their people. [1] Typically, the cultivation of cotton and food crops was carried on side by side. [1] Efforts to extend the cultivation of cotton to the neighboring sahelian prefectures of Salamat and Guéra have had little success. [1] In 1983 and 1984, with production at its highest in a decade, these two prefectures represented only .005% of total production. [1] Suggestions also have been made from time to time to bring cotton production to the fertile borders of Lake Chad. [1] Trials have shown the high yields possible there, estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms per hectare. [1] As of 1987, however, farmers in the Lake Chad area had not taken voluntarily to cotton production. [1] Traditionally, farmers have resisted government efforts to control local production of such crops as wheat, and the history of coercion and government intervention associated with cotton was no inducement. [1]

The government has introduced methods to increase crop yield, which include the expanded use of fertilizers and insecticides. [1] Even so, compared with crop yields of more than 1,000 kilograms per hectare for other francophone West African states (such as Cameroon, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire), until 1982 Chad's crop yields did not significantly exceed 500 kilograms per hectare; from 1983 to 1987, yields averaged almost 750 kilograms per hectare. [1]

Area under cotton cultivation reached a peak in 1963 of 3,389 square kilometres. [1] From 1963 until the end of the 1970s, the area under cotton cultivation averaged 2,750 square kilometres. [1] In the 1980s, however, the area has been consistently less than 2,000 square kilometres. [1] By 1983 the area of land under cotton cultivation had dropped by 36% from the average during the 1960s and 1970s. [1] Several sources estimated the area in southern Chad under cotton cultivation at 30 to 40% of all land in cultivation, and in some areas of Mayo-Kebbi Prefecture, it may have been higher. [1]

Cotton production has exhibited wide swings. [1] Factors such as climatic conditions, production prices, and civil strife have influenced production. [1] The first crop to exceed 100,000 tons came in 1963, but the 1970s were the best years for production, which from 1971 to 1978 remained well above 100,000 tons per year. [1] Chad reached its all-time record production in 1975. [1] Production suffered from 1979 to 1982 because of the Chadian Civil War and hit a twenty-year low in 1981. [1] In 1983, with the return of some political stability and higher market prices, production improved but then fell from 1984 to 1987, a reflection of declining world cotton prices. [1]

Once the crop is harvested, the producers must sort the cotton to separate lower quality yellow cotton from higher quality white cotton. [1] Since the late 1970s, the proportion of white cotton generally has been 90% or more of total production. [1] Going back to the 1960s, the quality of Chadian cotton had been consistently high, except for 1972 and 1973, when the proportion of yellow cotton rose to 18%. [1] Since 1980 the quality has remained high at initial sorting, with white cotton representing more than 95% of the crop and accounting for 98% of production in 1984. [1]

Cotton production was 142.000 ton in 2014, 180.000 ton in 2015, 150.000 in 2016. [2]

Administration

In 1989, the official structure responsible for the production and marketing of cotton was composed of the ONDR under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, of Cotontchad, and of the Cotton Price Stabilization Board (Caisse de Stabilisation des Prix du Coton—CSPC). [1] Founded in 1965, the ONDR was originally given responsibility to monitor, improve, and assist all agricultural production. [1] By the mid-1980s, however, the government's emphasis on cotton production made the ONDR an important factor for the cotton industry only. [1] Cotontchad, successor to Cotonfran, was founded as a parastatal company in 1971 to collect, buy, gin, transport, and export the cotton crop. [1] The company also had responsibility for elements of the small national textile, soap, and edible oil industries. [1] The CSPC's task was to stabilize prices paid to peasant producers by funding operating losses incurred by Cotontchad. [1] Assuring a constant price to the producer not only helped maintain a certain level of production for Cotontchad but also limited costs to the company by holding down producer prices. [1] The ONDR, the CSPC, Cotontchad, and the government itself were involved in determining producer prices. [1] In addition, the CSPC supported the program to improve yields. [1] Between 1971 and 1983, an estimated 57% of all payments by the CSPC were made in conjunction with the program to improve cotton production. [1]

Other major actors in the cotton industry were the private banks, the French Textile Development Company (Compagnie Française pour le Développement des Textiles--CFDT), and French and EC institutions, as well as the World Bank. [1] Private banks provided the credits necessary to Cotontchad and to the peasants to finance the opening of each planting season and especially to provide capital for the import and distribution of fertilizers and insecticides. [1] The CFDT marketed Chad's cotton on the world market. [1] The CFDT also contributed to the smooth operation of Cotontchad through technical agreements to maintain equipment and to provide expertise in improving cropping methods through the ONDR. [1] In addition, the CFDT supported research carried out by the Cotton and Textile Research Institute (Institut de Recherche sur le Coton et les Textiles—IRCT), a small public research facility located near Doba. [1] Subsidies to Chad's cotton production under the Lomé Convention were paid through the Stabex system of the EEC. [1] Those funds were channeled to the CSPC for price support to the producers. [1] The CSPC also received portions of funds needed to assure payments to producers from Cotontchad as well as from the central government. [1] Between 1971 and 1983, virtually all income to the CSPC derived from rebates paid by Cotontchad into the system. [1]

After 1984, the system became far more dependent on external sources of funds (such as Stabex) because of sharply reduced income to Cotontchad. [1] In addition to Stabex, the EC's European Development Fund (EDF) contributed directly to the program of improving yields. [1] French assistance remained crucial to the system. [1] The Central Fund for Economic Cooperation ( Caisse Centrale de Coopération Economique —CCCE) was a shareholder in Cotontchad, and the other arm of French foreign aid, the Cooperation and Aid Fund (Fonds d'Aide et de la Coopération—FAC), directed assistance to the southern zone in support of the cotton complex. [1] FAC also provided direct assistance to the government, which, among other things, helped pay the salaries of officials and functionaries, especially those in the ONDR. [1]

Pricing

Prices paid to Chad's cotton producers, the peasants of the southern soudanian zone, have risen slowly over the years. [1] The structure included separate prices for white cotton and for yellow cotton. [1] From 1971, when the distinction arose, to 1978, the price for white cotton was CFA F50 per kilogram and stayed at this level during much of the period of heavy civil conflict until 1982. [1] From 1982 to 1985, the price increased steeply to CFA F100 per kilogram, at which point it had leveled by 1987, despite downward pressure because of the fall in world prices and a new program of cost reductions by Cotontchad under World Bank direction. [1] The price paid for yellow cotton has not kept pace with this rise, reaching only CFA F40 per kilogram in 1983, where it remained through 1987. [1]

The price paid to the producer traditionally has not covered actual production costs, either for the peasant or for Cotontchad. [1] As much as 50% of the costs of production has been borne by outside donors, primarily from the EDF, through the Stabex system. [1] Between 1981 and 1984, the EDF financed between 70 and 80% of the costs of the program to improve yields, largely through subsidies to the CSPC for price support and subsidies for Cotontchad in the initial purchase of insecticides and fertilizers. [1] The costs of improvements have been reimbursed only partially from payments made by producers through the ONDR. [1]

Restructuring the system

By 1987, because world prices were still insufficient to recoup costs, Cotontchad was rapidly going broke. [1] In the mid-1980s, annual net losses were estimated at CFA F18 billion. [1] Net losses per kilogram of ginned cotton were estimated at CFA F453 in 1985 and CFA F298 in 1987. [1] These figures stood in contrast to 1984, when there was a net profit of CFA F193 per kilogram. [1] Cotontchad's position was not expected to improve unless the world price of cotton reached the CFA F600-per-kilogram range. [1]

With World Bank backing and support from France, the Netherlands, and the EC, restructuring of Cotontchad began in 1986 with government implementation of the Emergency Cotton Program. [1] At the producer level, the program called for freezing the price paid producers at the CFA F100-per-kilogram level through 1988 and studying new methods of fixing producer prices to reflect world market conditions. [1] Subsidies on improved inputs, such as fertilizer and insecticides, were eliminated as of 1987, with producers assuming the costs. [1] Cotton production was to be limited to about 100,000 tons by restricting the area under production to 750 square kilometres during the program period. [1] At the company level, Cotontchad sold nonessential assets to the private sector (including two aircraft and about 150 vehicles), closed its branch office in Bangui, Central African Republic, and laid off administrative staff. [1] It also closed six ginneries and reduced the number of cotton collection centers in accordance with the production target of 100,000 tons. [1] For its part, the government exempted Cotontchad from taxes, particularly export duties, and suspended its contributions to the CSPC, the ONDR, and the Debt Amortization Fund (Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement—CAA). [1] Staffs at the CSPC and the ONDR were reduced, and the roles of both organizations were reviewed. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of the Comoros</span>

The economy of the Comoros is based on subsistence agriculture and fishing. Comoros has inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. The Comoros, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita income of about $700, is among the world's poorest and least developed nations. Although the quality of the land differs from island to island, most of the widespread lava-encrusted soil formations are unsuited to agriculture. As a result, most of the inhabitants make their living from subsistence agriculture and fishing. Average wages in 2007 hover around $3–4 per day.

The Société cotonnière du Tchad, also called Cotontchad, is a parastatal Chadian company operating in a monopoly regime that buys and exports all the cotton produced in Chad. Cotton represents 40% of the country's exports and in past years has been even more dominant.

The Cotton Price Stabilization Board was a Chadian governative board created in 1965. Its task was to stabilize prices paid to peasant producers by funding operating losses incurred by Cotontchad, the parastatal giant that bought, ginned and sold all the cotton produced in Chad. The CSPC also played an important role in the program to improve yields: it is estimated that between 1971 and 1983 57% of all payments by the CSPC were made in conjunction with the program to improve cotton production. As for the funding of the CSPC, between 1971 and 1983, virtually all income to the CSPC derived from rebates paid by Cotontchad into the system. After 1984 the sharply reduced income of Cotontchad made the system for paying the producers heavily dependent on external sources of funds, while the government completely exempted Cotontchad from the rebates to the CSPC. The difficulties of the CSPC, whose staffs had already been considerably reduced in the late 1980s, came to a head with the great recession that hit the cotton market between 1991 and 1993, leading to the abolition of the board in 1993. It was decided to let the prices paid to the producers fluctuate freely, following the international price of cotton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Senegal</span> Economic sector in Senegal

Agriculture is one of the dominant parts of Senegal's economy, even though Senegal lies within the drought-prone Sahel region. As only about 5% of the land is irrigated, Senegal continues to rely on rain-fed agriculture. Agriculture occupies about 75% of the workforce. Despite a relatively wide variety of agricultural production, the majority of farmers produce for subsistence needs. Millet, rice, corn, and sorghum are the primary food crops grown in Senegal. Production is subject to drought and threats of pests such as locusts, birds, fruit flies, and white flies. Moreover, the effects of climate change in Senegal are expected to severely harm the agricultural economy due to extreme weather such as drought, as well as increased temperatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Vietnam</span>

Agriculture's share of GDP has declined in recent years, falling from 42% in 1989, to 26% in 1999. In 2023, agriculture and forestry accounted for about 12% of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP). However, agricultural employment was much higher than agriculture's share of GDP; in 2005, approximately 60 percent of the employed labor force was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Agricultural products accounted for 30 percent of exports in 2005. The relaxation of the state monopoly on rice exports transformed the country into the world's second or third largest rice exporter. Other cash crops are coffee, cotton, peanuts, rubber, sugarcane, and tea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of agriculture in China</span>

For millennia, agriculture has played an important role in the Chinese economy and society. By the time the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, virtually all arable land was under cultivation; irrigation and drainage systems constructed centuries earlier and intensive farming practices already produced relatively high yields. But little prime virgin land was available to support population growth and economic development. However, after a decline in production as a result of the Great Leap Forward (1958–60), agricultural reforms implemented in the 1980s increased yields and promised even greater future production from existing cultivated land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Malawi</span>

The main economic products of Malawi are tobacco, tea, cotton, groundnuts, sugar and coffee. These have been among the main cash crops for the last century, but tobacco has become increasingly predominant in the last quarter-century, with a production in 2011 of 175,000 tonnes. Over the last century, tea and groundnuts have increased in relative importance while cotton has decreased. The main food crops are maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, sorghum, bananas, rice, and Irish potatoes and cattle, sheep and goats are raised. The main industries deal with agricultural processing of tobacco, tea and sugar and timber products. The industrial production growth rate is estimated at 10% (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Ghana</span> Agricultural activity in Ghana

Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Chad</span>

In 2020, approximately 80% of Chad's labor force was employed in the agricultural sector. This sector of the economy accounts for 52.3% of the GDP, as of 2017. With the exception of cotton production, some small-scale sugar cane production, and a portion of the peanut crop, Chad's agriculture consists of subsistence food production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Angola</span>

Angola is a potentially rich agricultural country, with fertile soils, a favourable climate, and about 57.4 million ha of agricultural land, including more than 5.0 million ha of arable land. Before independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola had a flourishing tradition of family-based farming and was self-sufficient in all major food crops except wheat. The country exported coffee and maize, as well as crops such as sisal, bananas, tobacco and cassava. By the 1990s Angola produced less than 1% the volume of coffee it had produced in the early 1970s, while production of cotton, tobacco and sugar cane had ceased almost entirely. Poor global market prices and lack of investment have severely limited the sector since independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining industry of Ivory Coast</span>

The mining sector of Ivory Coast contributes to 13% of the country's exports annually and accounts for 5% of the GDP. The industry has historically centered on the extraction of gold. Although the subsoil of Ivory Coast contains many other minerals, none had been discovered in commercially exploitable amounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Madagascar</span> Economic sector in Madagascar

Agriculture employs the majority of Madagascar's population. Mainly involving smallholders, agriculture has seen different levels of state organisation, shifting from state control to a liberalized sector.

Uganda's favorable soil conditions and climate have contributed to the country's agricultural success. Most areas of Uganda have usually received plenty of rain. In some years, small areas of the southeast and southwest have averaged more than 150 millimeters per month. In the north, there is often a short dry season in December and January. Temperatures vary only a few degrees above or below 20 °C but are moderated by differences in altitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Algeria</span>

Agriculture in Algeria composes 25% of Algeria's economy and 12% of its GDP in 2010. Prior to Algeria’ colonization in 1830, nonindustrial agriculture provided sustenance for its population of approximately 2-3 million. Domestic agriculture production included wheat, barley, citrus fruits, dates, nuts, and olives. After 1830, colonizers introduced 2200 individual farms operated by private sectors. Colonial farmers continued to produce a variety of fruits, nuts, wheat, vegetables. Algeria became a large producer of wine during the late 19th century due to a crop epidemic that spread across France. Algeria's agriculture evolved after independence was achieved in 1962. The industry experienced multiple policy changes modernize and decry on food imports. Today, Algeria's agriculture industry continues to expand modern irrigation and size of cultivable land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Sudan</span> Economic sector in Sudan

Agriculture in Sudan plays an important role in that country's economy. Agriculture and livestock raising are the main sources of livelihood for most of the Sudanese population. It was estimated that, as of 2011, 80 percent of the labor force were employed in that sector, including 84 percent of the women and 64 percent of the men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Bolivia</span>

The role of agriculture in the Bolivian economy in the late 1980s expanded as the collapse of the tin industry forced the country to diversify its productive and export base. Agricultural production as a share of GDP was approximately 23 percent in 1987, compared with 30 percent in 1960 and a low of just under 17 percent in 1979. The recession of the 1980s, along with unfavorable weather conditions, particularly droughts and floods, hampered output. Agriculture employed about 46 percent of the country's labor force in 1987. Most production, with the exception of coca, focused on the domestic market and self-sufficiency in food. Agricultural exports accounted for only about 15 percent of total exports in the late 1980s, depending on weather conditions and commodity prices for agricultural goods, hydrocarbons, and minerals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Paraguay</span>

Throughout its history, agriculture in Paraguay has been the mainstay of the economy. This trend has continued today and in the late 1980s the agricultural sector generally accounted for 48 percent of the nation's employment, 23 percent of GDP, and 98 percent of export earnings. The sector comprised a strong food and cash crop base, a large livestock subsector including cattle ranching and beef production, and a vibrant timber industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa production in Ghana</span>

Ghana is the second-largest exporter of cocoa beans in the world, after Ivory Coast. Ghana's cocoa cultivation, however, is noted within the developing world to be one of the most modelled commodities and valuables.

The British Cotton Growing Association (BCGA) was an organisation formed in 1902 from the various bodies connected with the Lancashire cotton industry which aimed to reduce that industry's dependence on supplies of raw cotton from the United States by promoting the development of cotton growing in the British Empire. It was described as a "semi-philanthropic" organisation, or combination of non-governmental organization, and a development agency, as it provided development funds without requiring any direct repayment, but did expect the Lancashire cotton industry to benefit indirectly in the longer term from the availability more secure cotton supplies.

Cotton in Malawi is an important part of the agricultural history of Malawi. Cotton is not indigenous to the country, but was introduced into warmer lowland areas no later than the 17th century. Production in the late pre-colonial and early colonial period was limited but, from the early 20th century, it has been grown mainly by African smallholders in the south of the country. For a brief period during the First World War, cotton was the most valuable export crop, and it has remained an important earner of foreign exchange.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 Coats, Peter D. (1990). "Cotton". In Collelo, Thomas (ed.). Chad: A Country Study (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN   0-16-024770-5. PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ↑ "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service" (PDF). Retrieved 4 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.