Africa and Latin America discuss joint solutions to meet the challenges of cotton production through South-South Cooperation

Maceió, Alagoas (Brazil), 31 August 2017 - About 100 people, including 32 Latin American representatives from six countries and 36 African representatives from 14 African countries, participated in the dialogue: “Challenges and Opportunities for South-South Cooperation in the Cotton Value Chain”, which was carried out parallel to the 11th Brazilian Congress of Cotton, in the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil.

The dialogue, organized by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC/MRE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), promoted the exchange of experiences for the identification of challenges, and proposals for common solutions, to the sustainable development of the cotton sector in Latin America and Africa through the South-South Cooperation projects in this area.

At the opening of the dialogue, the Director of ABC/MRE, Ambassador João Almino, expressed the satisfaction of receiving foreign delegations in Brazil: "This forum is the result of the wealth of experiences exchanged between Brazil and its partners, through South-South Cooperation projects in the cotton sector. We want to continue to spread the positive impact of the solutions found by Brazil," he said. The Ambassador also added: "We want to create a South-South Cooperation network of good practices in the sector."

Since 2009, the Brazilian government, through the ABC/MRE, executes South-South Cooperation activities in the area of cotton between Brazil and developing countries, through the exchange of experiences, technical knowledge, research and technologies.

Cooperation, Decent Work, Production and Market - Africa and Latin America

The dialogue addressed issues such as international cooperation, decent work, production and market access. Representatives of African and Latin American Governments, international organizations such as ILO and FAO, and researchers from both continents presented their experiences, weaknesses, challenges and how South-South Cooperation projects can help strengthen the cotton value chain in their countries.

It also identified the opportunities and concrete actions needed to strengthen the sector, based on the development of a South-South exchange network between Latin American and African countries.

On this topic, Cecília Malaguti, Coordinator-General for Technical Cooperation for International Organizations of ABC/MRE, said: "Our expectation is to start building a network among cotton producing countries, for the sustainability of all the work that the Government of Brazil has implemented for the strengthening of the cotton sector in Latin American and African countries ".

According to Ms Malaguti, cotton producers in Africa and Latin America have common characteristics. Not only are they largely small and medium-sized farmers, but they also have very similar climatic and soil characteristics, and similar difficulties, such as poor access to training and information, among others. "It was very evident in this dialogue that there is still room for many challenges and countries' interest in further strengthening in the sector," she added.

+Cotton

For Adriana Gregolin, Regional Coordinator of the +Cotton project of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme, much progress has been made in the relationship among countries, in the exchange of information and in support of their requests, since each one lives in very different, yet coinciding, realities. "Africa, much like Latin America, has seed problems, training and technologies. This dialogue promoted during the Brazilian Congress allowed us to know even more their needs and discuss possible solutions to jointly advance in the strengthening of the cotton sector," she said. The +Cotton project is carried out in six Latin American countries.

Amadou Aly Yattara, focal point of the "Cotton4" project carried out by ABC/MRE with the support of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) in Mali, explained that cotton is primarily for the food security of family farmers of his country, since 3.5 million people live on cotton. Yattara stressed that South-South Cooperation is very concerned about training, management and producers, and added: "South-South Cooperation between the countries of Africa and Latin America can help us to move forward. If we work together, we can be great." The Cotton4 project is implemented in four other African countries.

Fernanda Barreto, Coordinator of the ILO project of South-South Cooperation for the promotion of decent work in cotton-producing countries in Africa and Latin America, participated in the dialogue presenting the work carried out by the ILO project. "It was an opportunity to address the various issues that involve the cotton value chain within the scope of the Brazilian initiative in the social, production and marketing axes. With this event, it was possible to better understand all the actions that have been carried out in the cotton field, seeking to identify common themes between the projects in Africa and Latin America, and that can be developed next year," she said. The ILO project is implemented in two countries in South America and three in Africa.

Regarding the next steps, Ms Gregolin, from the +Cotton project, reported that one of the concrete results of the dialogue is the holding of a major technical event in 2018 where Africa and Latin America will come together to discuss their problems, and the solutions that family farmers of the two continents can apply. "This meeting of know-hows, knowledge and professionals is very enriching for the countries, presenting the benefits and opportunities of a Trilateral South-South Cooperation," she concluded.