WT/CFMC/W/58  
25 April 2013  
(13-2193)  Page: 1/3  
 Original: French  
 
  DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
COMMUNICATION FROM BURKINA FASO 
 The following communication, dated 18 April 2013, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Burkina Faso.   
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  1  COMMENTS BY BURKINA FASO ON THE 14
TH VERSION OF THE EVOLVING TABLE 
1.1.  Burkina Faso welcomes the new structure of the evolving table, which not only makes it more 
readable, but also allows a better operational appr eciation of the various elements of the projects 
and programmes on cotton and in the agricultural sector. 
1.2.  As we review the 14th version of the table, Burkina Faso would like to express once again to 
the WTO its appreciation of the importance of the consultative framework set up by the Director-General, as a dynamic framework in which the donor community has been able, in 
concrete terms, to express its commendable intent ion to support the cotton sector in Africa in 
general, and in the C-4 countries in particular. 
1.2  COMMENTS ON PART I: COTTON SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 1.3.  Burkina Faso does not have any particular comments to make on the figures contained 
in the evolving table, which does not mean that it fully validates them, but most of the projects 
are being implemented in the field, and current a rrangements make it difficult, at this stage 
at least, to determine the amounts entered as disbursements. 
1.4.  Confirmation of implementation of cotton projects: Burkina Faso confirms the implementation 
of projects from the following donors: 
- Brazil: Programme for the development of the cotton sector in the Cotton-4 countries 
(Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali); 
- European Union: Project to improve the fertility of soils in organic farms of the 
cotton-growing area of Burkina Faso ( Amélioration de la fertilité des sols dans 
les exploitations biologiques de la zone cotonnière du Burkina Faso ), and the 
project "Support to cotton classing SOFITEX laboratory towards international 
accreditation ISO17025". 
- Here, Burkina Faso would appeal to the European Union for greater commitment with 
respect to the Consolidation of the Action Framework for the EU-Africa Partnership 
on Cotton, for which the amount budgeted for the period 2012-2015 is €11 million covering activities in 38 African cotton-producing countries; 
- France: Capacity building project for producers' organizations; 
- United States: WACIP in favour of the C-4; WT/CFMC/W/58 
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  - CFC: Project to prevent seed cotton contamination in West Africa; 
- World Bank : Agricultural Diversification and Market Development Project; 
- ADB: Cotton Multinational Competitiveness Programme; 
- Integrated Framework: DTIS preparation, including cotton sector analysis. 
1.5.  Further information: Burkina Faso would like to have further information from certain donors 
on the status of their projects, in particular: 
a. France, for the following projects: 
i. Strengthening a regional approach in EU-Africa Partnership; 
ii. Fair trade and organic cotton; 
b. Germany, for the promotion of cotton value chains in sub-Saharan African countries; 
c. Netherlands, for support to Unions of Communal Cotton Producers. 
1.6.  On several occasions, Burkina Faso has argu ed that there should be proper coordination of 
the activities of donor countries in order to help rationalize the content of the projects and programmes and the use of resources allocated for their implementation. We would thus avoid 
situations where several donors implement similar programmes, and would be able to build 
on the programmes that have already been implemented and encourage synergies among ongoing programmes. 
1.7.  Burkina Faso further notes that unfortunately, apart from Switzerland, which did provide 
information on its national focal point, none of the donor countries entered their national focal points in part IV of the table (pages 17 and 18) . The absence of any information on the donors' 
national focal points means that the projects ar e less traceable and more difficult to implement 
in the field. 
1.8.  Burkina Faso therefore requests that the 15
th version of the evolving table include the contact 
details of the national focal points of all of the donor countries as well as the beneficiary countries. 
1.9.  It is important that the donor countries and the beneficiary countries should be able 
to work together to ensure that this collaboration and coordination in developing and implementing projects and programmes for the improvement of  the competitiveness of the cotton sector 
actually materializes. 
1.10.  Reorganization: Burkina Faso suggests that the activities of the European Commission 
(Syprobio - Improvements in incomes and food se curity of producers through diversified organic 
production systems) and the World Bank (Agricultural Diversification and Market Development 
Project PO 81567) be removed and placed in part II, because they come under agriculture and 
infrastructure-related development assistance.  
1.3  COMMENTS ON PART II: AGRICULTURE-RELATED DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
1.11.  Burkina Faso does not have any particul ar comments on the subject of agriculture and 
infrastructure-related development assistance. However, it would ask that the contact details of the national focal points for all donor countries as well as the beneficiary countries appear 
in the 15
th version of the evolving table. WT/CFMC/W/58 
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  1.4  COMMENTS ON PART III: AVAILABL E RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE FOR COTTON 
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
1.12.  Burkina Faso notes that this section includes projects and programmes for which 
the operational status is "in progress since 2006" or "in progress", and for which the column 
"Status Cotton Available Amounts" is empty. 
1.13.  The question that arises is whether we should not consider updating part III of the 
evolving table.  
1.5  COMMENTS ON PART IV: NATIONAL COTTON SECTOR FOCAL POINTS 
1.14.  We note that only nine countries have pr ovided the contact details for their national focal 
points including, for the countries of the North, Switzerland. There is room for progress in this respect, as regards both the donor countries and the beneficiary countries. 
1.6  COMMENTS ON ANNEX I: COMPLETED ACTIVITIES - PART I 
1.15.  After examining this table, we have the following comments: 
- The "Disbursement Status" column contains the abbreviation "FD" which unfortunately 
is not taken up again in the legend on pa ge 28. The legend needs to be completed; 
- The three UNIDO programmes on page 6 should, in view of their operational status 
(2008 and 2009), be transferred to Annex I, since they are surely 
"Completed Activities". 
1.7  COMMENTS ON ANNEXES II AND III 1.16.  The legend needs to be completed with an explanation of the abbreviation "FD". 
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