Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006
Like other West African cotton producers, Burkina Faso’s cotton strategy has traditionally involved substantial government intervention in both input and output markets. Despite some notable successes, this state-led strategy became widely criticized by the late 1980s for inefficiencies, inequities,...
| Autores principales: | , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2009
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161908 |
| _version_ | 1855542951473577984 |
|---|---|
| author | Kaminski, Jonathan Headey, Derek D. Bernard, Tanguy |
| author_browse | Bernard, Tanguy Headey, Derek D. Kaminski, Jonathan |
| author_facet | Kaminski, Jonathan Headey, Derek D. Bernard, Tanguy |
| author_sort | Kaminski, Jonathan |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Like other West African cotton producers, Burkina Faso’s cotton strategy has traditionally involved substantial government intervention in both input and output markets. Despite some notable successes, this state-led strategy became widely criticized by the late 1980s for inefficiencies, inequities, and for inducing macro-economic instability. However, Burkina Faso rejected both the status quo and wholesale liberalization paths, and instead embarked on a more gradual and sequenced reform path that included strengthening farmers’ groups before partially liberalizing input and output markets. Although these reforms have coincided with Burkina Faso becoming the largest cotton exporter in Africa, this paper more rigorously assesses the success of these reforms through both descriptive evidence and a counterfactual analysis of what might have happened if the prereform status quo had continued. We conclude that the reforms were highly successful in terms of production growth, job creation, and in improving nutrition and poverty reduction among cotton producers. However, we also consider important caveats. Partly by design, the reforms were less successful at raising yields, stimulating development in the broader economy, and addressing environmental concerns. The more damaging criticism that the reforms have proved financially unsustainable is also considered. Without being apologist, we argue that the new institutions created under the cotton reforms at least provide a deliberative forum for successfully addressing the problem. A key challenge for the near future will be to ensure that the key institutions in this forum–particularly the farmers union and the former parastatal–are made more accountable to farmers and other key actors in the cotton sectors. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace161908 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publishDateRange | 2009 |
| publishDateSort | 2009 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1619082025-11-06T07:25:47Z Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 Kaminski, Jonathan Headey, Derek D. Bernard, Tanguy food security cotton reforms Like other West African cotton producers, Burkina Faso’s cotton strategy has traditionally involved substantial government intervention in both input and output markets. Despite some notable successes, this state-led strategy became widely criticized by the late 1980s for inefficiencies, inequities, and for inducing macro-economic instability. However, Burkina Faso rejected both the status quo and wholesale liberalization paths, and instead embarked on a more gradual and sequenced reform path that included strengthening farmers’ groups before partially liberalizing input and output markets. Although these reforms have coincided with Burkina Faso becoming the largest cotton exporter in Africa, this paper more rigorously assesses the success of these reforms through both descriptive evidence and a counterfactual analysis of what might have happened if the prereform status quo had continued. We conclude that the reforms were highly successful in terms of production growth, job creation, and in improving nutrition and poverty reduction among cotton producers. However, we also consider important caveats. Partly by design, the reforms were less successful at raising yields, stimulating development in the broader economy, and addressing environmental concerns. The more damaging criticism that the reforms have proved financially unsustainable is also considered. Without being apologist, we argue that the new institutions created under the cotton reforms at least provide a deliberative forum for successfully addressing the problem. A key challenge for the near future will be to ensure that the key institutions in this forum–particularly the farmers union and the former parastatal–are made more accountable to farmers and other key actors in the cotton sectors. 2009 2024-11-21T09:59:21Z 2024-11-21T09:59:21Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161908 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Kaminski, Jonathan; Headey, Derek D.; Bernard, Tanguy. 2009. Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security. IFPRI Discussion Paper 920. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161908 |
| spellingShingle | food security cotton reforms Kaminski, Jonathan Headey, Derek D. Bernard, Tanguy Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title | Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title_full | Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title_fullStr | Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title_short | Institutional reform in the Burkinabè cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security: 1996-2006 |
| title_sort | institutional reform in the burkinabe cotton sector and its impacts on incomes and food security 1996 2006 |
| topic | food security cotton reforms |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161908 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kaminskijonathan institutionalreformintheburkinabecottonsectoranditsimpactsonincomesandfoodsecurity19962006 AT headeyderekd institutionalreformintheburkinabecottonsectoranditsimpactsonincomesandfoodsecurity19962006 AT bernardtanguy institutionalreformintheburkinabecottonsectoranditsimpactsonincomesandfoodsecurity19962006 |