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 PAN International Website |
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Networking for organic cotton
Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Africa hosted a regional workshop on Smallholder Organic Agriculture for Cotton Production in Senegal, 24-28 November. Barbara Dinham and Dorothy Myers attended and report back.
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TonNgone Toure agronomist from the Koussanar project with a farmer from Djaba village with his organic cotton from this season |
Smallholder organic cotton
projects have proliferated in the past few years as the spiraling costs of
synthetic chemical inputs provide a strong incentive to farmers to seek
alternative production methods. In November, participants gathered in
Senegal from seven sub-Saharan countries to share their experiences in
organic cotton projects, and to develop a strategy for the future.
Projects
have been underway in Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique since around 1994,
and have produced marketable amounts of certified organic cotton fibre.
Other experimental projects have started in Senegal, Benin and Zimbabwe
and are about to start in Ghana and Mali. Hosted by PAN Africa, the
workshop brought together, for the first time, key people in these
projects, farmers, extensionists, project managers, researchers—to share
experience, learn from each other and make plans for working together more
closely in the future. It follows a workshop held in Benin earlier in the
year for the West Africa region.
In
welcoming the participants, the Adjoint du Developpement for the
Tambacounda Region said: “The government believes cotton production
adapted to the environment is important and this workshop provides a
framework to enrich North-South and South-South collaboration to this
end.”
Successful
marketing is crucial for organic cotton, and the participation and
interest of Dr Mamadou Diagne, Cotton Director for Tambacounda Region of
SODEFITEX (State cotton
board) may signal a first step in a partnership in Senegal between the
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), farmer organisations and marketing.
Dr Diagne expressed a hope that SODEFITEX could market organic cotton in
the future.
Among
the other concerns discussed at the workshop were research and
certificaton. Farmers are finding effective ways of managing pests in
these projects, though in some regions soil fertilisation techniques
remain a problem. Almost all the research undertaken by the national
cotton research institute focuses on conventional production as does
international cotton research. Collaboration on organic research could
bring rewarding results. A number of delegates came to the workshop from
the cotton research organisation, ISRA and Dr. Mour Gueye, from the
Tambacounda research station, told the workshop: “Organic cotton is a
good alternative and everyone in Senegal should try and contribute to its
success. We are becoming very conscious
of the environment, though many do not yet believe we can do without
pesticides. ISRA has a programme to reduce use, and we hope to collaborate
more on organic cotton. We in ISRA can collaborate more in future. Perhaps
another workshop in five years will see some answers coming from ISRA.”
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Woulaba Camara, extensionist at Koussanar describes pests and pest control identified by the project with the farmers. |
While
farmers can make major savings on inputs, organic cotton must be certified
if it is to be exported. Certified cotton commands a premium above the
cost of conventional cotton, which helps make up for the lower yields in
the early years of conversion. All the recognised certifiers of African
organic projects are based in Europe and consultancy rates put the costs
beyond the reach of small scale farmers until production reaches a large
enough scale. Certification is usually subsidised by the project. The need
for local certification systems and other solutions were identified.
For the future
A wide range of social, economic and technical issues were discussed in
the wind-up session of working groups, including networking, funding,
influencing, marketing, research and certification. Participants agreed
that gender issues were crucial to integrate into their project. The level
of enthusiasm and commitment from all those attending the Workshop was
impressive and will lead to much work together in the future to strengthen
the projects.
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Emelda Wingwiri, farmer from Zimbabwe makes a point at the workshop |
Senegal
The
Koussanar pilot project in Senegal is supported by the Pesticides
Trust [now PAN UK] in partnership with ENDA-Pronat. An agronomist and two
extension workers are based in Koussanar, and in the 1997 season
have worked with 521 farmers in surrounding villages. Farmers are
setting up their own organisation to develop the skill to take over
management of organic cotton. Women farmers are joining the project
in growing numbers and now number 72. Touty Ndao, a farmer from
Koussanar and head of the women’s organisation, spoke of what the
project had brought to women: “I have always been a
farmer—everywhere you find a man you find a woman also. When
spraying chemicals in the farm we used ULV sprayers. It was hard
work and
I could only use a piece of cloth for my face. When ENDA came with
this project, we women wanted to help so we set up women’s groups
making neem powder to sell. We are happy with the income.”Many
aspects of the pilot project were presented to the participants and
a field visit to some of the farmers’ fields provided first hand
insights. Farmers in the Koussanar project stress their preference
for organic agriculture based on better economic returns. The
workshop presentations were made by project workers on research with
farmers, the new farmers’ organisation and the women’s
organisation on experience of certification as well as technical
aspects.
Demba
Sy, a farmer from Koussanar emphasised farmers’ motivation for
joining the project which arose from the high cost of pesticides and
other inputs which frequently left farmers in debt. He said: “When
we started growing cotton many years ago the inputs were given free
by SODEFITEX. But in recent years we have had to start buying
inputs. Now we cannot pay our debts. This year I am growing organic
cotton, I don’t know the yield yet, but the difference is I will
have no debt and I know the price of 220 CFA per kilo, is all mine,
and so are the seeds, so these are the advantages.”
The
region is dry, with one rainfall a year from June to October.
Farmers have many pests to deal with, including aphids (Aphis
gossipii), bollworms (Heliothis armigiera) and others.
Neem trees are well established in the area. But farmers have also
begun to use chilli, and to discover local plants which are
effective. They have experimented extensively with these in the 1997
season.
Bakary
Fofana, a farmer said: “I was in the army for 32 years and came
back to the rural area only six years ago. I noticed that honey and
other local foods were lacking. My children grew cotton using
pesticides, but last year we were sold a useless (adulterated)
product and it was completely ineffective. I met a friend who told
me about organic cotton and thought this was best for me. Maybe I
didn’t know that I was ‘organic’, but I have always loved
insects and tried to protect them. Now that I have tried both kinds
of farming, I prefer organic.”
Zimbabwe
Cotton
is the largest crop after tobacco. The organic project is based in the
Lower Guruve area of the Zambezi valley. Farmers had become trapped in
spiralling pesticide use as insects became resistant, and rising prices
reduced gross margins. An investigation by Zimbabwe Institute of
Permaculture (ZIP) Research and farmers found they were losing money by
growing conventional cotton. Losses of up to Zim$10,000 were recorded at
the end of the last season. Farmers are aware of the negative impacts of
pesticides, including loss of bees, and small animals which used to be
part of the diet. Contamination of water sources and fish kills have been
recorded.
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Researchers at the ISRA cotton research station, Tambacounda, show an insect light trap |
The
first organic season was 1995/96 with 40 farmers experimenting.
There were many problems and yields were low, but the interest and
enthusiasm remained. Training was needed to help farmers with new
methods and ZIP Research was invited to step in. For the 1997/98
season, 30 farmer field-workers have spent a month on intensive
training with ZIP and now returned to work with 10 farmers each
starting November 1997. Emelda Wingwiri, one of the trained farmers,
said: “Last year I set aside one acre as a research plot. As a
live fence, I planted trees which had several uses (Acacia
albida, Acacia tortilis and Leuceanea). I also planted Azanza
galziena, which harbours predators, on the perimeter. Tephrosia,
along the centre of the plot, attracts predators and was used as a
spray.
With
cotton, I inter-cropped cow peas and pumpkins (as alive mulch and to
encourage insects), sweet potatoes and other smelling bushes. As time went
by I saw wasps, spiders, frogs, ladybirds and others. After harvesting I
got 100kg cotton, 140kg cowpeas, 60 kg sweet potatoes, 40kg cowpea from my
care.”
Mozambique
The
organic cotton project started in 1995 in one province, and now employs 60
extension workers covering five of the country’s ten provinces. Managed
by the governmental Mozambique Cotton Institute, the project is also self
funded. Cotton production dropped dramatically during the civil war but by
1997, it had climbed back to 64,000 tonnes. The abolition of subsidies for
pesticides in 1994 created the impetus for organic
production—small-scale producers could no longer afford the chemical
inputs. In addition, the negative effects of pesticides for workers, the
environment and consumers was recognised and there was a commitment to
improving the utilisation of local resources. During the last season,
certified organic cotton production reached 200 tonnes from 600 ha with
average yields of 350 kg/ha, compared with 400 kg/ha for conventional
production. A much larger project area was effectively organic but not
certified. The 1,200 farmers involved received a premium of 23% over
conventional cotton and are firmly committed to organic, saying that
“money and health is squandered on conventional production.” An
experienced team now manages the organic infrastructure, and in the
1997/98 season they expect 9,000 ha to be planted with organic cotton.
Uganda
Farmers
face many new challenges in managing organic cotton but Uganda is better
placed than some countries on account of its high levels of soil fertility
and low levels of pesticide use. In 1994 SIDA, the Uganda government and
the Lango Union Organic Farming Project (LUOF) joined with farmers in the
north to produce and market certified organic cotton. In 1996, 5,437
farmers were involved on 6,000 ha and achieved average yields of 700
kg/ha. Farmers receive higher prices for their crop and yields in the
organic area are generally higher than conventionally grown cotton. A
black ant (Ancantholepsis spp.), native to the area, feeds on major
cotton pests and keeps them in check. On farm research is looking for ways
to make further use of the black ants and extends beyond cotton to other
crops. A local vegetable crop provides an attractant to another major
pest, the cotton stainer (Dysdercus spp.). Organic production
requires that all crops in the rotation are organic and Ugandan farmers in
LUOF have now reported over 200 tonnes of sesame certified as organic,
bringing excellent prices. The higher incomes in the area are reflected in
improved housing and investment in tree planting, including neem.
Benin
In
Benin there are projects in the North at Kandi and in the South at Aklampa
and Dan. In Kandi during the 1996/97 season, 32 individual farmers and
four groups each of women and men grew organic cotton with an average plot
size of 0.36 ha. The numbers have increased during the 1997/98 season to
108 persons (59 women and 49 men), with an average plot size of 0.25 ha.
In the first season, farmers have concentrated on organic fertilisation to
improve soil fertility, and the use of neem to control pests. Bat guano is
also used to fertilise the soil. Women have a particular problem using
manure as they do not own cattle. The pests are very much the same as in
Senegal.
The
programme in the South of Benin began with 40 farmers. Many more are
interested in joining the project, but at present funds do not permit
expansion. As elsewhere, the main concerns are soil fertility and pest
control. Where available, cattle manure is used to fertilise the soil, but
other practices, such as residues from palm oil processing are also used.
Neem, and a mixture of human urine and soap are being recommended for pest
control.