COTTON

closed

The Cotton Development Project will expand Madagascar's cotton production from 26,000 tons to 45,000 tons over a four year period thereby saving foreign exchange expenditures on cotton fiber import. It will also increase per capita cash income of producers, including some 20,000 smallholders. Production increases will be achieved by increasing yields on existing cultivated lands and by expanding cultivation through the development of 8,000 ha. of new land. Project components include: (a) purchase and distribution of equipment, vehicles and farm inputs to maintain and improve productivity; (b) rehabilitation of cotton roads and tracks to improve communication for input supply and crop marketing; (c) adaptive research; and (d) technical assistance to cotton parastatals and farmers.