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The Beyond Cotton initiative completed its planning phase with the four participating countries, Benin, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania. A team of experts was in Kenya and Tanzania from 4 to 15 February to share with local stakeholders the initiative\u2019s strategy and to validate the main implementation aspects with both countries. A similar validation process was made in Benin and Mozambique in December. The Beyond Cotton team will now prepare country-specific projects that will establish the priorities of the initiative and guide its implementation in each country.<\/p>\n
The Beyond Cotton project is a joint initiative of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, with support from the Brazilian Cotton Institute. It aims to support smallholder cotton producers and public institutions in the four countries to connect cotton by-products, such as oil and cake, and associated crops, such as corn, sorghum and beans, to reliable markets, including school feeding programmes. The Beyond Cotton initiative will contribute to generate income for the smallholder farmers and to increase food and nutrition security in rural areas.<\/p>\n
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In many cotton-producing countries, the main challenge is to find steady markets for cotton by-products and associated food crops. There is usually an assured, growing market for the cotton fibre, but selling the remaining oil and cake and the associated crops that are commonly grown in rotation with the cotton may be difficult.<\/p>\n
The profit generated by the commercialization of the cotton fibre is not enough to maintain the family, and the demand for sustainable cotton fibre remains unmet, due to the lack of interest of smallholder farmers to invest in this production system. By better structuring the value chain of cotton by-products and associated products, the Beyond Cotton initiative will increase income and improve the food and nutrition security status of rural families, increase agricultural production and link it to school feeding programmes, and create incentives for more smallholder farmers to invest in sustainable cotton production.<\/p>\n
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Kenya<\/p>\n
Cotton in Kenya is mainly grown by smallholder farmers in arid areas. It is estimated that cotton production provides livelihood to 27,000 farmers, which is why cotton has been identified as a key sector for the government\u2019s policy to address poverty, known as \u201cKenya Vision 2030\u201d.<\/p>\n
During the one-week mission, the Beyond Cotton team established contacts between national public and private institutions, directly or indirectly linked to the Kenyan cotton sector. They also identified priorities for the cotton value chain in Kenya and elaborated and shared with local stakeholders the strategic axes of the country project. Another goal of the mission was to set the mechanisms for coordination and technical implementation of the initiative, the next steps and\u00a0the responsibilities of the actors involved.<\/p>\n
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Tanzania<\/p>\n
In Tanzania, the technical mission discussed with national players how to integrate the Beyond Cotton initiative to other cotton production projects in a complementary way and with the local school feeding programme and nutrition policies. They informed local stakeholders about the Beyond Cotton initiative and its methodology and worked jointly to establish a set of priorities for the initiative\u2019s strategy in the country.<\/p>\n
The Beyond Cotton team established contacts among local institutions linked to the cotton sector, both from the public and the private sectors. They discussed with the main actors the strategic axes of the country project and the coordination mechanisms for the implementation of the initiative, the next steps and\u00a0the responsibilities of each actor involved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Beyond Cotton initiative completed its planning phase with…<\/p>\n