Case study West-African, cotton

Download – The outreach of the cotton sub-sector in West Africa is huge: in countries like Benin, Burkina and Mali it has encompassed over 750,000 households. In the past 20 years, as a result of cotton sub-sector reforms, multi-tier cotton farmers’ organisations have emerged, which today act as primary stakeholders in cotton supply chains and whose role goes beyond producing cotton. They played a vital role in the expansion of the chain in the 1980-90s and in achieving the establishment of a more balanced sub-sector in 2000, faced with the challenge of taking on new roles, these farmers’ organisations have developed new capacities, often supported by SNV and others.