Temo Tamboura
Cotton Sector Liberalisation in Mali
Together with its neighbouring West African countries, Mali is among the leading cotton producers in the world. In spite of the labour intensive methods traditionally used to produce cotton, these countries have managed to build up a competitive industry struggling with artificially low prices on the world market due to subsidies in other parts of the world, such as the US. The Malian ‘Compagnie malienne de développement des textiles’, of which the Malian state is the major shareholder, has been put under pressure by the World Bank for many years. In 2004, a US$50 million loan was held back by the Bank until the Malian government in 2005 gave in and liberalised the cotton sector by removing the price regulation mechanisms that ensured farmers a predictable income. As a direct result, the revenues of 3 million Malians dropped by 20 % in a short period of time. Cotton is Mali's largest source of income, and one quarter of the population is dependent on cotton for survival.
Temo Tamboura from CAD, a civil society network in Mali, will talk about the social impacts the economic condition has had in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world with 90 % of the population living on less than 2 dollars a day.
