The meeting which falls within the frame work of the 8th cotton days will take place from March 11 to 13.
A meeting of Africa Cotton Producers, ACA, will take place in Yaounde from March 11 to 13 within the frame work of the 8th cotton days. The meeting taking place for the first time in Cameroon will be based on the theme; “African cotton: faced with its challenges”, and will bring together some 83 participants drawn from 18 African countries. Issues o be examined at the meeting include the indicators of production, the present and perspective situation, cultivation and diversity, biotechnologies and injustice in the international market. In prelude to the event, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, together with the general manager of SODECTON, Iya Mohammed, gave a press conference in the conference hall of the Ministry of Trade.

Justifying the holding of the meeting in Yaounde, the Minister said Cameroon was the third producer of cotton in francophone Africa and about two million people live on cotton production in the country.

During the press conference which was also attended by the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, the Minister of Trade said the African association of cotton producers comprises three categories of members including cotton producers, textile industries and corresponding members like financial institutions and transportation companies. There were 62 members, 27 active members, 8 associated members and 27 corresponding members. ACA, he said, was created in September 2002 during the ministerial meeting in Cotonou-Benin. The organisation, the minister said, collects and diffuses information on the commerce of cotton, respect for commercial contracts and fights against the granting of subsidies by US and European governments. The US for instance, grants 5billion dollars in subsidies to cotton producers;

Presenting the situation of cotton production in Cameroon, the general Manager of SODECOTO, Iya Mohammed, said production was dropping due to low remuneration as prices are dropping in the international market. This has made SODECOTON to seek ways of diversifying production and boosting local processing of cotton into textile or oil as well as introduce genetically modified species of cotton which give high yield. In this vane, SODECOTON initiated the cultivation of soja and started with 7 tons.