Cotton made in Africa: Anna Rosenberg reports on an exciting new project that aims to help African cotton producers enhance their production techniques, increase their yield, export more and earn more.

Every year, Africa exports about $2.1bn worth of cotton, making the continent the world's second-largest exporter of raw cotton, after the US, which exports about $4.9bn a yea. However, as heavily subsidised cotton floods the world market, the value of cotton decreases dramatically, leaving African smallholder farmers struggling to make a living from cotton production.

A new project, "Cotton made in Africa" (CmiA), started by the Germany-based Aid by Trade Foundation, aims to make cotton production worthwhile for African small smallholders and investors alike by improving the quality of production and facilitating access to competitive markets.

CmiA is a partnership of African farmers, cotton manufactures and retailers, as well as representatives from the public sector, which was initiated by German entrepreneur, Dr Michael Otto, head of one of the world's largest mail order companies, the Otto Group.

The idea behind the project is to produce cotton along certain quality, environmental and social criteria. This cotton is then labelled "Cotton made in Africa" which the consumer will link to quality as well as social and environmental responsibility.

To facilitate the product's access to the international market, CmiA has partnered with various European--up to now mainly German--retailers, who have agreed to buy cotton grown in African and turn it into textiles carrying the CmiA label, thereby establishing a direct link between cotton farmers and textile retailers.

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According to Dr Michael Otto, "'Cotton made in Africa' is innovative because the project activates market forces and establishes a win-win situation for all actors within the production chain--from smallholder to consumer."

Vamissa Diomande, managing director of Ivoire Cotton, explains: "Until now, cotton has been an anonymous resource. With CmiA, cotton gets a face, comparable to a label, which provides the consumer with a quality product of a special kind. This is the result of the hard work of various African farmers."

In training classes in Africa, agriculturalists teach smallholders to plant cotton in sustainable and environmentally friendly way, avoiding the overuse of pesticides that harm the soil and the health of farmers. With this technique, the crop yield improves which, in turn, increases the income of farmers, as well as cotton manufacturers and retailers.

In order to guarantee sustainable cotton production, CmiA has implemented a verification system and several criteria which all participants have to stick to. For example, cotton production systems--including smallholders, cotton companies and associations, ginners and traders, provided they work towards sustainable production.

However, it remains to be seen if the Aid by Trade Foundation will be able to supervise the implementation of these criteria at all levels.

With a budget of $48.9m, the project aims at increasing the income of about 265,000 small-scale farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda and Mozambique, where the project has been implemented so far.

The budget is supported by grants from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development ($6m), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($24.4m) from private partners such as Cargill, Dunavant, ICA Talon, Faso Coton and Plexus.

These funds are used to support activities such as the introduction and intensification of good agricultural practices, improved plant protection, soil and water conservation, and crop quality management.

Some of the funds also go into credit schemes for draft animals, and the promotion of complementary cash and food corps such as cashew and sesame.

However, even though the CmiA project by developing a product that works within the market economy, it also comes at a time when cotton production in Africa is becoming very attractive.

The trouble, though, is that over 25,000 cotton farmers in the US rely on about $2bn in subsidies from the American government which have encouraged farmers to grow and export more cotton, thereby driving down the price to the detriment of poor African farmers.