By Pauline Bax
-
Benin more than doubled cotton crop since Talon assumed office
-
Government invested heavily in modernizing key sector
Benin last year became the biggest cotton grower in West Africa, surpassing Mali and Burkina Faso, and produced 714,630 metric tons in the 2019-20 season. That compares with 299,218 tons in 2015-16, when Talon first assumed office. Cotton is the country’s biggest export crop.
“We’ve achieved an output that we never saw before in the sector’s history,” Badou Gani Tamou, head of the National Federation of Cotton Producers, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. He said the group will urge Talon to seek a second mandate in the vote that’s due in April.
Benin’s government in recent years invested heavily in modernizing the industry, overseeing the timely supply of seeds and fertilizers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.