General Council Meeting

December 9-11, 2019

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Statement by India

The Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton – Statement by the Director-General

Thank you, DG

We join the other delegations in congratulating you, the WTO Secretariat and the C4 for the success of the first World Cotton Day on 7 October 2019.

2. India has been providing assistance to strengthen both the agriculture and textile part of the cotton value chain in Africa.

3. In a spirit of South-South cooperation, India implemented a large Cotton Technical Assistance Programme in 6 African countries, namely - Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda over a period of 7 years from 2012-2018. This programme led to the training and capacity building of thousands of African farmers, scientists, and government officials on the use of better agronomic practices. It also led to the creation of cotton-related infrastructure.

4. At the Partners’ Conference held on the first World Cotton Day, India announced its decision to launch a second phase of the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme based on the success of Cotton TAP-1. In its second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia, and Tanzania. The Cotton TAP programme will thus cover a total of 11 African countries including the C4. The programme will focus on increasing cotton production and improving the post-harvest and plant residue-based industry in the participating countries, as well as building the capacity of the cotton-based textile sector in these countries.

5. We remain committed to building on our longstanding development partnership with Africa in the field of cotton.

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