(Togo First) - Olam International, the majority stakeholder in the New Cotton Company of Togo (NSCT), plans to invest CFA4.6bn in the 2021-2022 cotton campaign. It eyes an output of 135,000 t for the season. 

Part of the funds will be spent on industrial infrastructure, tech equipment, management software, including the NSCT’s integrated management software package SAP which will serve to manage farmers’ environment. CFA2.5bn will be used to renovate factories and buy spare parts. 

In parallel, the NSCT will have to pre-finance the new cotton season, injecting CFA9 billion in the purchase of inputs (for the whole cultivated area - 180,000 ha), and make advance payments for major producers. The funds will be recovered at the end of the campaign, the company said.  

For the new campaign, the NSCT decided to use a weather alert system, to avoid rain issues encountered the previous season. 

In addition, “the group intends to improve its database in areas where the NSCT operates, to better know farmers and their needs,” said Martin Drevron, deputy managing director in charge of operations at the NSCT. 

The production target, 135,000 t, according to the NSCT’s board chairman, M. Simfeitcheou, “aligns with the government’s ambition to leverage cotton as a tool to develop grassroots communities.” This, he added, is clearly “reflected through the installation of the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA) where local cotton is to be processed.”

In the last season, 2020-2021, Togo’s cotton output fell by nearly 43%, from 117,000 t to 66,000 t.