The importance and future of cotton in West Africa: the case of Mali.

Summary This thesis aims to demonstrate the interest of cotton in the African economy, particularly in Mali, which is 70% based on the primary sector, in which agriculture is estimated to account for 60 to 70% of the workforce, with an employability rate of over 60%. It also raises questions about the future of this crop in light of the disruptions that the world cotton market has been experiencing for over a decade. In doing so, initially, and over several periods, the analysis of statistical data through tables, graphs, figures and even maps has made it possible to highlight the multidimensional importance (economic, socio-cultural and environmental, etc.) of this crop at the triple level of the world, Africa and particularly Mali. Faced with the great interest in cotton production, differences of opinion arose at several levels, leading to what was called the cotton war. Then, if on the one hand historical and geopolitical reasons were put forward to justify this war over cotton, on the other hand, it was recalled that this war is manifested through the numerous negotiations and discussions that are bogged down on the cotton issue, particularly at the level of the World Trade Organization, which is struggling to ensure that its own basic rules (aiming at the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers) are respected by certain countries known as "Price makers". Another manifestation of the cotton war has been explained by the large volume of American, European and Chinese subsidies paid in all forms by developed countries to their producers to the detriment of those in poor countries, particularly in Africa. Several studies using impact analysis models and tools have confirmed the negative correlation between subsidies and the world price of cotton as expressed by the Cotlook A index. In this regard, it appears that subsidies paid by developed countries result in a drop in the world price of cotton by an average of 15% (between 3 and 28% depending on the case). In order to stop this practice of subsidies, several agreements have been formed, firstly the African Sectoral Initiative made up of the C4 countries since the Cancun ministerial conference in September 2003, and secondly, initiatives within the WAEMU and the EU-Africa partnership on cotton issues. Finally, in the last part of this paper, the cotton problem goes beyond the issues of subsidies and prices, which seem to be cyclical. Thus, in addition to the abandonment of subsidies, some researchers propose a structural reform of the cotton sectors through the liberalization of the sector and the valorization (transformation) of cotton and its by-products, the opportunity of alternative crops to conventional cotton, without forgetting the formalization of bilateral and multilateral aid in order to support the actions envisaged.