China-Africa cotton industry research
1. Cotton production status in China and Africa
Over the past 50 years, cotton production in China and Africa has experienced a development process from private companies to state-owned companies. Many small farmers have emerged, with each household growing cotton on an average of 0.5 hectares. In 1970, the total output of seed cotton reached 58,743 tons, with an output of approximately 441 tons per hectare. In 1992, the yield per hectare reached 762 tons, the highest in history.
There are six provinces in Central Africa suitable for growing cotton, with a total of 192,600 farming households, millions of people engaged in cotton cultivation, and 2 million people engaged in cotton industry-related work, that is, 40% of Central Africans are engaged in the production and sales of cotton.
Cotton cultivation not only brings income to Central African families, but also prompts Central African people to develop a large number of grain fields. 80% of cotton farmers also grow food crops. This not only solves the problem of land use rate, but also reduces the impact of chemical fertilizers on soil quality. It can be said that cotton planting not only contributes to an increase in food production, but also promotes food security and poverty reduction.
2. History of cotton production in China and Africa
In 1925, cotton cultivation was introduced to Central Africa. Cotton cultivation experienced rapid development in the northern region of Central Africa. Small farmers united with cotton processing factories to form a situation of integrated production and marketing.
Cotton processing factories promote the development of cotton cultivation. Before the country’s independence in 1960, there were two cotton factories, COTONBANGUI and COTONFRancS. After independence, the first factory was the United Central African Cotton Consortium (UCCA). This was followed by the African Agricultural Development Company (SOCADA) from 1980 to 1990, the Cotton Company of Central Africa (SOCOCA) from 1992 to 2002, and the Cotton Textile Company of Central Africa (SOCADETEX) from 2002 to 2005. The French spinning company became a cotton development partner of the Central African government until 2005.
The cotton industry in China and Africa has experienced two major crises. One was the collapse of international cotton prices in 1985, and the other was the delisting of French companies and political and military conflicts in 2002-2003, which directly led to the collapse of the China-Africa Cotton Textile Company (SOCADETEX) in 2005. )collapse. In order to ensure cotton sales, the China-Africa Cotton Office was established as a transitional agency. However, since then, the China-Africa cotton industry has not developed, and the Cotton Office has been maintained to this day.
In 1970, the Central African government owned 19 cotton gins, but now only one in Bossangua, built in 2012, is still in operation.
In view of the organizational status of the cotton industry and the socio-economic situation in Central Africa, seed cotton production in Central Africa experienced rapid development from 1925 to 1940, and cotton output varied between 30,000 and 40,000 tons from 1941 to 1960. After independence, cotton production dropped sharply by half between 1960 and 1965, reaching 24,000 tons in 1965. It was 58,000 tons in 1969, but output has been declining since then, reaching only 900 tons in 2008.
3. Development potential of cotton industry in China and Africa
China and Africa have advantages in developing the cotton industry, with superior agricultural resources and climatic conditions, and huge development potential. 100,000 hectares of new cotton planting area can be developed every year, and seed cotton production can reach 70,000 tons.
The main factors restricting the development of the cotton industry are: insufficient roads and other infrastructure in cotton-producing areas, lack of cotton gins in the Ubangi Basin, low output due to high development costs and insufficient technical capabilities, and lack of cottonseed oil mills.
Traditional cotton planting development zones need to increase investment in the following aspects: renovating old cotton gins and investing in cottonseed oil processing plants; repairing and maintaining infrastructure such as roads in cotton-producing areas; providing cotton seeds, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers , herbicides and other agricultural inputs, as well as agricultural machinery used for land reclamation, leveling and soil loosening; technical training for cotton farmers, cotton picking, cotton processing and sales.
If the above situation is guaranteed, 80,000 to 130,000 cotton growers will be added in the next five years, and the output of seed cotton and its derivatives will increase from 24,000 tons to 120,000 tons. At the same time, food production will also increase significantly.
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