Will soy replace cotton in Burkina Faso?

Cotton farmers seem to have adjusted better to world market trends than the trading companies. The President of the National Cotton Growers’ Union (UNPCB- Union Nationale des Producteurs de Coton du Burkina Faso) François Traoré recently wrote: “On Thursday May 11th 2007 the price of Burkina cotton, based on world market prices and the euro-dollar exchange rate,  was fixed at 145 CFA francs per kilo seed cotton to be paid to producers (compared with 165 CFA francs for the 2006-2007 harvesting season, 175 CFA francs for 2005-2006 and 210 for 2004-2005), although input costs (fertiliser etc.) have risen considerably.” 

It would probably have been difficult to obtain a better deal. At any rate, trading companies refused to pay cotton farmers more. Farmers would, however, have appreciated an announcement from the companies that their management’s salaries would be reduced in equal proportions!

During my last visit to Boni ( See bulletin n° 251) I noted that a number of cotton fields now have been planted with soy. Farmers I questioned told me that, as the selling price for cotton was now down to 145 CFA francs per kilo, they no longer had anything to gain from growing it. Already last year some had started growing soy and were pleased with the outcome. Thus, this year all wanted to follow their example. Some indeed entirely abandoned cotton for soy. Others kept growing cotton on a reduced acreage and used the freed space for soy.

A few kilometres further on, at Kulo (south of Pa) the same scene appeared. Soy everywhere and very little cotton. Given that animal fodder has been scarce this year, it seems that Boni farmers have made a good choice. Indeed, there was such shortage of animal fodder that cattle farmers, who supply the fresh milk to the dairy in Kaya, were no longer able to feed their cows properly and therefore could not deliver enough milk to the dairy. Thus, one of the best dairies of Burkina, which usually processes 1000 litres of local milk a day, only had 150 litres per day, either because fodder was lacking or the price up over the top.

Recent studies in Burkina show that 3 kilos of domestic industrial agricultural by-products could well be substituted by 1 kilo of soy fodder.  These industrial feed stuffs are mainly by-products of cotton. Due to the falling cotton prices there will be a further shortage this year. Soy could be a valid replacement. Therefore farmers in Boni and Kulo have indeed made a wise choice! 

On driving back to Koudougou I wondered: Why is it that the trading companies keep asking  Burkina farmers to produce more cotton? The cotton trade must be rescued, fair enough! But first of all, cotton farmers must be rescued! The latter seem to have adapted their choice better to the world market situation than the trading companies. Why didn’t they think of suggesting that farmers should grow less cotton and more soy? That would have been a boost for the production of animal feed and therefore also for the production of organic fertiliser. Has the time not come to advise cotton farmers to abandon for good the usual cotton-maize alternating crops (a disaster for the environment) and instead adopt a 4 year multi-cropping  regimen of cotton-maize-oil seed (soy or other) - fodder. Such a rotation would improve soil conservation and it would be possible to save not only cotton but also the farmers who produce it!

30/10/2007
Maurice Oudet
SEDELAN

Visit our web site abcburkina.net