DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON

COTTON PROJECTS

Communication from Burkina Faso

The following communication, dated 21 September 2015, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Burkina Faso.

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The Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso is submitting the projects below with a view to receiving technical and financial assistance from the cotton sector development partners under the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton.

1  PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF COTTON PRODUCERS OF BURKINA FASO (UNPCB)

1.1  Creation

1.1.  The National Union of Cotton Producers of Burkina Faso (UNPCB) was created on 15 April 1998 by the Provincial Unions of Cotton Producers (UPPC) that endorsed the Articles of Association. It is governed by Law No. 014/99/AN of 15 April 1999 on the regulation of cooperatives and groupings in Burkina Faso.

1.2  Structure

1.2.  The UNPCB has a bottom up structure and comprises four statutory bodies:

a.    the General Assembly (AG), composed of three representatives appointed by each of the 28 member Provincial Unions;

b.    the Management Board (CG), composed of ten members elected by the General Assembly. Members of the Management Board have the status of director;

c.    the Steering Committee (CC), composed of three members elected by the General Assembly;

d.    the specialized commissions, of which there are two: one responsible for managing inputs and credit, and the other responsible for external relations. Each of the commissions has three members.

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1.3.  The UNPCB is made up of:

a.    9,023 cotton producers associations (GPCs);

b.    194 organic cotton producer groups (GPCBs);

c.    177 departments structured into Departmental Unions;

d.    28 provinces structured into Provincial Unions;

e.    350,000 farms.

1.3  Mission

1.4.  Inter alia, to represent the cotton producers vis‑à‑vis the other stakeholders and to participate in the co‑management of the sector, while promoting the growth of cotton and associated food crops.

1.4  Values

1.5.  The conviction that agriculture in Burkina Faso can become a true vocation and that unity, solidarity and responsibility will enable the producers to take upon themselves the development of their agriculture.

1.5  Services to members

1.6.  These services are provided through three main functions:

a.    the trade union function, chiefly involving the defence of the socio‑economic interests of members;

b.    the economic function: supply of cereal inputs, cattle feed, agricultural equipment and operational/storage equipment, including the storehouses and head offices;

c.    the support/advisory function through the cotton producers organizations' Financial Management Council (COGES), the Family Farming Council (CEF) and support for organic/fair‑trade cotton production; and

d.    the promotion of functional literacy through the Literacy and Farm Management Programme (PAGEA).

1.6  Technical team

1.7.  The UNPCB Management Council, in accordance with the Union's Articles of Association, recruited a technical team to help it to carry out the duties entrusted to it by the UNPCB General Assembly. There are now 189 permanent staff, distributed as follows:

a.    at headquarters: 35 staff members, 21 of them administrative;

b.    in the two branch offices (Fada and Ouagadougou): five staff members;

c.    in the field: 150 staff members:

·         organic cotton programme: 45 organic cotton specialists and five organic cotton area managers;

·         producers organizations' Financial Management Council: 16 management inspectors (IPG) and 84 financial management advisors for the Cotton Producers Organizations (OPC).

1.7  Profile of UNPCB staff

1.8.  The staff is made up of agronomists, sociologists, economists, accountants, human resources management specialists, procurement specialists, internal and external auditors, senior agricultural technicians, support staff, etc.

2  REMINDER OF THE FIVE‑YEAR PLAN AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE AREAS COVERED BY THE FUND

2.1  Rationale for UNPCB intervention

2.1.  The rationale behind UNPCB's intervention is explained in its Five‑Year Strategic Plan 2014‑2018. It is this document that serves as a guideline for all of the actions undertaken by the UNPCB during the period.

2.2.  This rationale for intervention, as updated in the Five‑Year Strategic Plan 2014‑2018, calls for a sustainable improvement in the income and living standards of cotton producers in Burkina Faso (specific objective) and for an effort to speed up the growth and sustainable socio‑economic development of the rural sector (overall objective) in conformity with the national policy guidelines drawn up in the framework of the Accelerated Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy (SCADD) and the National Rural Sector Programme (PNSR).

2.3.  The UNPCB's vision for 2014‑2018 can be descried as follows: "Professionalized Burkina Faso cotton producers ensuring food security and improving their income through efficient, sustainable, safe and resilient production systems grouped together under a Union of Cooperatives capable of defending their interests at the sectoral level as well as the national, regional and international levels".

2.4.  The three targeted results have been defined in relation to the functions mentioned earlier:

a.    Trade union function – Result 1: The cotton producers are to be represented effectively and their social and economic interests defended;

b.    Support/advisory function – Result 2: The capacities of producers and Cotton Producer Organizations (OPC) are to be strengthened;

c.    Economic function - Result 3: The needs of producers and OPCs in relation to the conduct of their economic activities are to be met.

2.5.  The potential areas to be financed by the fund specifically include the UNPCB's support/advisory and economic functions.

3  Project proposals

3.1.  A number of projects have been identified under Burkina Faso's five‑year strategic plan. Implementation of these projects will undoubtedly contribute to achieving the five‑year plan's intended results. The projects listed below are designed to achieve results 2 and 3 mentioned above.

3.2.  Contribution to achieving result 2 of the five‑year strategic plan: Strengthening the capacity of producers and OPCs; in particular, activity 2.6 of the strategic plan's log frame: run an integrated management programme on soil fertility and the development of innovative and sustainable production techniques.

3.1  Funding component concerned: management and preservation of natural resources

3.3.  Project title: Integrated management programme on soil fertility and the development of innovative and sustainable production techniques.

3.4.  For the past few years, cotton production yields have been stagnating in the cotton growing areas. One way to counter this fall in productivity is to restore the fertility of the plots, for instance by suppling organic matter. The techniques identified for agricultural extension under the strategy for sustainable management of soil fertility are the production of organic fertilizers, and erosion protection measures, namely water and soil conservation (CES) and soil preservation and restoration (DRS).

3.2  Training producers in sustainable management of soil fertility

3.5.  The training topics which have been identified concern the production of organic fertilizer and erosion protection techniques (CRD/DRS).

3.6.  Training activities will extend to all of the provinces of the cotton growing area, and training courses for producers will be combined with the building of fertilizer and compost trenches and erosion protection works (stone barriers, ridging, grass strips, etc.).

3.7.  Training will cover organic fertilizer production techniques available to producers (windrow composting, trench composting, improved penning, etc.), as well as the use of the A‑frame level, stone setting techniques, gully control techniques, methods for determining the distance between ridges, and techniques for building cross ties. For producers in the provinces, the equipment kits needed for digging fertilizer trenches and for erosion protection works will be funded.

3.8.  The recipients will be distributed as follows:

a.    Production of organic fertilizer: 200 producers per provincial union, i.e. for the 28 member provinces, 5,600 producers.

b.    CES/DRS works: 100 producers per provincial union, i.e. for the 28 member provinces, 2,800 producers, covering an area of 100 ha per provincial union, or a total of 2,800 ha.

3.3  Supply of subsidized equipment for the production of organic fertilizers and for the CES/DRS works

3.9.  In order to ensure that the training is carried out properly, it is essential that producers continue to be supported with equipment to produce organic fertilizers and to carry out the erosion protection work.

3.10.  65% of this equipment will be subsidized, each one of the beneficiaries contributing 35%. To the that end, two types of kit, comprising different equipment, have been identified:

a.    Kit for the production of organic fertilizer: shovel, pick, pitchfork, watering can, cart, Burkina phosphate, compost plus activator;

b.    Kit for the CES/DRS work: A‑frame level, pick, gloves, etc.

3.11.  Contribution to achieving Result 3 of the UNPCB's five‑year strategic plan: satisfying the needs of producers and OPCs in relation to the conduct of their economic activities, particularly in respect of activity 3.3: contributing to the building of infrastructure for collective use and the purchase of individual and collective equipment.

3.12.  Funding component concerned: design, planning and implementation of the required infrastructure projects intended exclusively for the storage, conservation and transport of cotton, of seeds and of inputs such as fertilizers.

3.13.  Project title: Development of infrastructure for the Cotton Producers Organizations (OPC).

3.14.  The selected infrastructure is made up of warehouses, OPC offices which will be used as training rooms, and silos. The project also calls for the building of rural tracks in the cotton growing areas.

3.3.1  Warehouses, offices, silos

3.15.  The plan is to build 1,000 warehouses (OPC for better management of inputs), 100 UDPC offices to be used as training rooms, and 3,000 silos (for improved crop management in a context of climate change).

3.16.  The advantage of these facilities is that they will contribute to the management of cotton inputs, thereby reinforcing the structural framework of the OPCs, while helping to preserve the quality of seed cotton in the silos and to implement the training programmes for the OPCs.

3.17.  65% of the costs of developing this infrastructure will be funded by the project, leaving 35% for the beneficiaries.

3.3.2  Rural tracks

3.18.  3,000 km of rural tracks will have to be built in the cotton growing areas. These tracks will be fully funded by the project. Their purpose is to facilitate the transport of the producers and their products from one locality to another. Consequently, they will contribute (directly and indirectly) to the development of the beneficiary localities while at the same time helping to move the seed cotton produced to the processing plants. The UNPCB and is agencies will identify the priorities in this respect according to need.

3.4  Contribution to the cross‑cutting goal of promoting cotton Burkina Faso

3.5  Funding component concerned: promotion of the use of cotton

3.19.  Project title: Promotion of the use of Faso Dan Fani cloth by creating uniforms for primary school pupils.

3.20.  In Burkina Faso, uniforms are essentially mandatory for primary schools all the way up to college level.

3.21.  Faso Dan Fani is a handwoven cotton cloth. The promotion of its use is aimed to encourage the local processing of Burkina Faso cotton. It should be noted that Faso Dan Fani is ideal both during the hot periods and the cool periods.

3.22.  The value chain looks as follows:

a.    Seed cotton from cotton producers è cotton fibre from the ginning plants è production of cotton yarn by the Filature du Sahel (FILSHA) è use of the yarn by weavers in its natural state or dyed by dyers before weaving è finally, production of the uniform using the cotton fabric.

3.23.  Partnerships will thus be developed with associations involved in the production of yarn and cloth made of Burkina Faso cotton.

3.24.  The end users of these uniforms will be primary school pupils. This choice was determined by the desire to make children aware from the outset of the importance and value of Burkina Faso cotton. This awareness will remain with them until they are adults and will inevitably contribute to enhancing the status of Burkina Faso cotton. 20 schools in Ouagadougou and 20 schools in Bobo Dioulasso will be concerned.

3.25.  The colours and design of the uniforms will be decided upon by the UNPCB in cooperation with the representatives of the schools concerned.

3.6  Budget estimates

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