- Better Cotton will conduct sustainability mapping and assessments in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire to gauge smallholder cotton farmer operations and needs
- Funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the move is part of wider efforts led by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and football governing body FIFA to boost raw material production and processing in West and Central Africa
- in the 2021-22 cotton season, 22% of global cotton production was Better Cotton, grown in 22 countries around the world
Geneva- Better Cotton is teaming up with World Trade Organisation (WTO) and FIFA on an initiative to boost the cotton-to-textile value chain in West and Central Africa and improve economic returns for the sector.
Funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Better Cotton will conduct sustainability mapping and assessments in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.
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Ultimately, the NGO will identify specific interventions to connect farming communities to the WTO and FIFA’s mission to strengthen supply chains in the region.
The WTO and FIFA have partnered since 2022 to enhance the participation of Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad and Mali – known as the Cotton Four (C4) – in the textile value chain.
In February of this year, the pair officially launched a coalition, ‘Partenariat pour le Coton’ – of which Better Cotton is a member – to accelerate work on that front.
The organizations also called on the public and private sectors to increase their investment in African cotton, saying that exporting 90% of the region’s raw cotton undermines the area’s economic potential.
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Scaling up local processing capacities could boost incomes, they asserted.
“Through initiatives like these, we are committed to supporting Africa’s smallholder farmers and the entire cotton value chain, enabling them to extract maximum value from their produce, boost value addition, attain higher levels of sustainability and improve quality, all while prioritizing superior products with global market potential,” said Kanayo Awani, EVP, Intra-African Trade Bank, Afreximbank.
Better Cotton launched its Côte d’Ivoire program in November 2023, building on its presence on the continent. The NGO also has programs in Mozambique and South Africa.
“Africa is a vibrant and exciting region for cotton production, and our expansion on the continent is demonstrative of that,” said Alan McClay, CEO at Better Cotton.
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