YAOUNDE — A sharp drop in world prices has almost halved cotton production in Africa over five years, the African Cotton Association announced Wednesday, saying the sector faced an "acute crisis."

The price drop along with soaring costs for agricultural inputs have forced African farmers "to abandon cotton production," ACA's president Bachir Diop said at press conference in Yaounde, where the group is holding its annual meeting.

Diop called for a "Marshall Plan" for cotton, on which the organisation estimates some 25 million Africans rely for part or much of their income.

Diop also renewed longstanding African demands for the United States and European Union to end subsidies for their producers.

Cotton production fell 42 percent over five years, to 1.17 million tonnes in 2009, according to the ACA, which represents cotton producers, textile manufacturers and others in the sector.

African cotton companies also faced a 250 billion-CFA franc (381 million-euro, 520 million-dollar) deficit as of 2007, Diop said.