Performance of Zambia’s Cotton Sector under Partial Reforms
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14. With funding from the German Development Agency (GTZ), Dunavant has been implementing the YIELD Program since 2005/06. The program includes demonstration farms run by lead farmers who apply the “five-finger” principle to field management (early and proper land preparation, planting with first rains, correct plant population, timely weeding, and effective pest management). 15. Since 1996, biotech cotton has been introduced successfully in a number of countries, with substantial increases in average yields. With the exception of Burkina Faso and South Africa, no African country has yet adopted this technology. Discussions in Zambia are ongoing on the adoption of biotech varieties. 16. Personal interview with CDT officials. 17. For a detailed discussion of the performance of the cotton sector under various regimes, see Tschirley, Poulton, and Labaste (2009). 18. The government has been a marginal player in this sector, and so far has not fully supported the Cotton Board. 19. The YIELD program targets larger and more reliable farmers and tries to increase their yields and convert them to more commercial production systems.
References Aksoy, M.A., and A. Onal. 2012 “Consensus, Institutions, and Supply Response: The Political Economy of Agricultural Reforms in Africa.” In African Agricultural Reforms: The Role of Consensus and Institutions, ed. M. Ataman Aksoy. World Bank: Washington, DC. Baffes, J. 2012. “How Africa Missed the Cotton Revolution.” Draft, World Bank, Washington, DC. Tschirley, D., and S. Kabwe. 2009a. “The Cotton Sector of Zambia.” Africa Region Working Paper Series 123, World Bank, Washington, DC. ———. 2009b. “Cotton Sector Regulation in Zambia: A Preliminary Case Study.” Paper presented at Virtual Workshop on Cotton Sector Regulation in Africa sponsored by the World Bank, Washington, DC, June. Tschirley, D., C. Poulton, and P. Labaste, ed. 2009. Organization and Performance of Cotton Sectors in Africa: Learning from Reform Experience. Washington, DC: World Bank.