Cotton is an important source of livelihood for millions of smallholders worldwide and women contribute significantly to cotton farming, constituting a large share of the workforce involved in primary production. However, women face disproportionate barriers along the cotton value chain in terms of access to land, inputs and services that affect the quality of their participation and the benefit they can derive. Gender-responsive policies and programmes can help ensure that...

This document analyses the cotton market in the Cotton-4 (C-4) countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. It studies the current market situation and medium-term prospects of the sector and considers the way forward.

This policy brief provides an overview of the key market, trade and policy drivers shaping the international cotton market, including developments prospects and challenges for the sector.

The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of a number of developing countries, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide. The cotton industry employs an estimated 150 million people across 75 countries, making the cotton sector an important contributor to the achievements of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Understanding the drivers of the cotton market and identifying the challenges and opportunities that lie...

The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of a number of developing countries, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide. In 2019, world production of cotton was valued at about USD 46 billion, while global trade reached USD 15 billion. Moreover, the cotton industry employs an estimated 150 million people across 75 countries, making the cotton sector an important contributor to the achievements of...

This guide draws on the lessons learned in the framework of the project “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products, implemented by FAO in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone from September 2005 to September 2009, with funds provided by the German Government. For more information on this project, consult its website at ....

Subsidies maintain cotton production at otherwise unprofitable levels in industrialized countries Excess supply induced by domestic subsidies has a depressing effect on the world market price Subsidy reductions will reduce poverty in developing producing countries Estimates of the magnitude of the impact of subsidies on the global pattern of cotton production, world market prices and cotton trade vary due to the range of assumptions used by different studies.