Picking Cotton in Modern Day Africa
African Cotton Economy
Cotton is King in Benin
Picking Cotton in Modern Day Africa
Where is Benin
Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West
African kingdom that raised to prominence in about 1600 and over the next 250
years became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade.
Benin is located in Western Africa, bordering the
Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo. Benin is slightly smaller than
Pennsylvania. The languages of Benin include French the official language, Fon
and Yoruba, and numerous tribal languages.
The population of Benin is mainly located in the
south, with the highest concentration of Beninese people living in and around
the cities on the Atlantic coast. Most of the north of Benin remains sparsely
populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west. Nevertheless, no
matter Beninese people live, almost half the population is dependent on cotton
to earn a living.
Cotton in Benin
 |
| Benin cotton |
The economy of Benin is dependent on subsistence
agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. An insufficient electrical
supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the
government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production.
Benin, which was a leading global producer of
cotton between 2004 and 2006, has since experienced a sharp fall in production.
Cotton exports have not been able to recover its former output levels.
The Benin government has also taken over the
export of cotton and cottonseed. After a difficult period, production is now
once again getting under way, but with output likely to be below Benin’s glory
days as King of Cotton.
Picking Cotton
In Benin, large cotton plantations or farms are
dedicated to growing cotton. Picking cotton in Benin without machinery is very
hot, hard, physical work where women work the same hours as men. At harvest
time, pickers are expected to pick a certain amount of cotton each day or they
do not earn enough money to support their families. Most work as field hands on
cotton plantations. Today raw cotton is processed in the state's grain mills
which the picker must pay for the use of the mill.
Cotton pickers can work in the fields from
sunrise to sunset and at harvest time; they might work an 18-hour day. At
harvest time, the cotton bolls are collected into large sacks and weighed. A
good picker can harvest 100-300 pounds of cotton in a day. This size of harvest
would consist of one-third fibers and two-thirds seeds. Harvesting is
mechanized today on some larger farms.
Cotton is still King in the African country of
Benin, cotton accounts for nearly 40 percent of the country's revenue. Cotton
provides an income to roughly three million people however; cotton productivity
and profitability have declined in recent years due, in part, to poor
governmental management practices and piracy against commercial shipping in its
territory off the Port of Cotonou.
Cotton in Benin Africa Three Facts
Cotton is Benin’s most important cash crop.
Cotton is highly susceptible to pests such as cotton bollworm, and more pesticides are used on it per unit than on any other crop. Organic farming is catching on but relies on farmers rotating their crops, which takes time, and monitoring insects.
Cotton has mainly been farmed in Benin using agrochemicals including, in some cases, the banned insecticide endosulfan, to raise yields.
