In a bid to improve the living conditions of smallholder farmers through better trade practices, Mozambique has joined Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi and Zambia as a member of the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative. About 80% of the population of Mozambique works in agriculture, with cotton among the most important products.
According to an article on www.just-style.com, about 75,000 smallholder cotton farmers in Mozambique will participate in the effort and will collaborate locally with Mozambique Plexus. A total of 255,000 smallholder farmers and their family members are expected to profit from the partnership.
The initiative and its supporting organization, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), estimate that MozambiqueΆs production will total more than 13,325 tons of ginned cotton in 2011/12. Its addition means CmiA should produce about 160,000 tons of ginned cotton this year.
"[In other words], about 15% of all cotton produced in sub-Saharan Africa is already being sustainably cultivated in accordance with the CmiA standards," says Christoph Kaut, AbTFΆs managing director.
Last year, about 15 million textile items made from Cotton made in Africa cotton entered the market, a number that is expected to rise to 20 million in 2012.