WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CFMC/W/35 
22 May 2008 
 
 (08-2627) 
 Original:   French 
  
 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
Cotton Projects
1 
 
Communication from Benin 
  
 The following communication, dated 20 November 2007, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Benin. 
 
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ASSOCIATION INTERPROFESSIONNELLE DU COTON 
(INTERPROFESSIONAL COTTON ASSOCIATION) 
 
ESTABLISHMENT OF A COTTON FARMING 
MONITORING CENTRE IN BENIN 
  
I. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE 
1. The cotton sector remains Benin's principal engi ne of growth and provides the bulk of the 
country's primary production and exports.  In the dr ive aimed at reviving the sector, between the late 
1980s and early 1990s the Governme nt initiated far reaching reforms that led to the opening up to 
private operators of subsectors such as ginning an d importing and distribution of inputs.  Moreover, 
the National Agricultural Promotion Company (SONAPRA), with its monopoly of cotton chain 
management, has now seen its responsibilities scaled down to ginning and agricultural promotion.  
New institutions are being set up in an inter occupa tional framework in which farmers' organizations 
play a key role. 
2. Recent seasons have brought a decline in cott on sector performance, however, due to various 
operational difficulties among intra-sectoral branches, which in turn have entailed consequences in 
terms of cotton production estimates over the period in question.  One of the basic reasons is the 
unreliability of the survey respondent base, with th e emergence of new producer organizations (PO) 
that considered recording of their membership or the acreage they had planted as irrelevant to 
themselves when the respondent base was set up. 
3. Despite the introduction of a tested method, the results of the estimation surveys 
commissioned by the Inter-Occupational Cotton Asso ciation (AIC) and conducted by the Regional 
Centres for Agricultural Promotion (CeRPA), under the supervision of the Planning and Forecasting 
Branch (DPP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Li vestock and Fisheries (MAEP), have proved less than 
satisfactory.  If solutions are to be found to supply th e AIC with reliable data to  meet its obligations in 
                                                     
 
1 This project had previously been distributed under the symbol JOB(07)/188. WT/CFMC/W/35 
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  a timely fashion and ensure close monitoring at farm level, the establishment of a cotton farming 
monitoring centre, with a mechanism for collecting data on an ongoing basis and closely monitoring 
Benin's cotton farms, has become a necessity. 
II. OBJECTIVE 
4. The establishment of a cotton farming monitoring centre is designed to provide the AIC, the 
State, technical and financial part ners and all actors in the cotton chain with a close monitoring tool 
that can supply reliable statistical data on the sector. 
5. Specifically, the objective is to: 
• Introduce and periodically update a cotton chain respondent base; 
• Conduct an annual survey on estimated cotton production; 
• Closely monitor a representative sample of cotton producers so as to secure accurate 
cotton statistics. 
 III. ANTICIPATED OUTCOME 
(a) Introduction of a cotton farming respondent base; 
(b) Annual updating of the cotton farming respondent base; 
(c) Establishment of a cotton farming typology; 
(d) Training of survey staff; 
(e) Collection of reliable data on acreage, yield and output; 
(f) Strengthening of monitoring/evaluation focal points among the various actors 
involved. 
IV. BENEFICIARIES 
6. The establishment of such a monitoring centre will enable: 
(a) Ginners to have reliable information on estimated quantities of seed cotton for 
ginning; 
(b) Input importers/distributors (IDI) to have  the background data on areas planted to 
seed cotton necessary for input import forecasting; 
(c) Producers to have reliable data on acrea ge, yield and production over the seasons; 
(d) The AIC to allocate quotas to ginners and prepare the removal plan more easily; 
(e) The various actors and partners to obtai n reliable data on the cotton chain over 
several seasons. WT/CFMC/W/35 
Page 3 
 
 
  V. PROJECT ACTIVITIES 
7. The main activities are: 
(a) Seasonal recording of acreage planted to cotton and cotton producers; 
(b) Implementation of the cotton output estimation survey; 
(c) Development of a cotton farming typology; 
(d) Establishment of a cotton farming monitoring centre for Benin; 
(e) Introduction of a close and ongoing monitoring mechanism for the centre. 
VI. DURATION OF THE PROJECT 
8. The project will be implemented over a period of five (5) years. 
VII. COST OF THE PROJECT 
9. Project expenditure will total CFAF 1,860,000,000, broken down as follows: 
 
Cost (CFAF million) No. Heading Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total 
1 Recording  85  85  85  0  0  255 
2 Estimation survey  65  65  65  65  65  270 
3 Typology  0  0  30  30  30  90 
4 Establishment of a 
monitoring centre    55  55  55  165 
5 Close monitoring 
mechanism    25  25  25  75 
6 Purchase of vehicles (6)  100  0  0  100  0  200 
7 Training  50  50  50  50  50  250 
8 Recruitment of survey 
staff (60)  110  110  110  110  110  550 
9 Purchase of motorcycles 
(60)  30  0  0  30  0  60 
10 Study trips  10  10  10  10  10  50 
11 Internal monitoring and 
evaluation  50  50  50  50  50  250 
12 General operation and 
coordination  100  100  100  100  100  500 
 Total  450  320  320  450  320  1,860 
 
VIII.  PARTNERS 
10. The AIC will coordinate implementation of the project. 
11. The other project partners are: 
• The MAEP, acting through the DPP, for technical support; 
 WT/CFMC/W/35 
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  • The National Statistics and Economic Anal ysis Institute (INSAE) for technical 
support; 
 
• The CeRPAs, involved in the implementation process. 
 
IX. OPERATIONAL PROCESS 
12. Output estimation will proceed acco rding to the following timetable: 
 
Table No. 1 
 
Timetable for Cotton Acreage and Producer Recording 
  
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 
ACTIVITIES 
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 
Training                                 
Data collection                                 
Preliminary sorting                                 
Training of operators 
and data entry                                 
Processing and reporting                   
              
 
  
   
WT/CFMC/W/35
Page 5Table No. 2 
 
Timetable for Cotton Production Estimation Survey 
 
 
Atacora-Donga Borgou-Alibori Mono-Couffo Ouémé-Plateau Zou-Collines 
NOVEMBER Dec. NOVEMBER NOVEMBER D ec. NOVEMBER Dec. NOVEMBER Dec. ACTIVITIES 
1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 3 4 1 2 
Training                                                        
Data collection                                                        
Checking                                                       
Calculation of acreage                                                        
Sorting                                                        
Reporting                                                       
 
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