Meet Vigan Noussoe.

Vignan’s income has been drastically affected by falling yields. This is mostly because of the poor quality of inputs supplied in recent growing seasons. Now, in order to meet his social obligations for his extended family – there are around 30 people in the household of three generations – he is obliged to take out loans everywhere. Vignan is ‘working to accumulate debts’ and feels that ‘it is no longer worth it’.

On hearing about US subsidies to cotton farmers – he did not even know cotton was grown in the US and was amazed at the support they receive - he said ‘we would also like to have subsidised credit and other support to encourage us….. ‘What is even more serious,’ he added ‘is that while we are farming cotton with our hoes, others are producing with huge machines…’

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Meet Robert Akpahon…

Robert lives in a household of eight, including several small children though his own children are mostly grown up. He farms eight hectares, entirely by hand using the traditional hoe (daba). In the first growing season, he plants food crops. The proceeds from selling any surplus food are used to fund his cotton production.

When cotton was in its boom period (in the early 1990s) he would usually sow 4 hectares of cotton. This has gradually diminished, and he now plants less than two hectares. Because of the costs of fertilisers and equipment and falling cotton prices, not only does he not any make money, he is now accumulating debts.

He feels as though cotton farmers in the area have become ‘donkeys, who work without earning anything’.

As a result, he is abandoning cotton to focus on food crops, such as maize, groundnuts, beans, okra and manioc (cassava). His yields of these crops however are highly variable, depending on the rains ( which have started late this year) and also labour. His children are all in school and so he has to hire labour to help with the harvest and weeding. In order to do so, he has taken loans from micro-finance institutions. Micro-finance loans also come with high interest rates – around 25% and so he is risking further indebtedness. This is an area where producers need more support, from government, in access to credit at affordable interest rates.

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Meet Michel Ahinon,….

Michel is the training officer for his local District Farmers Association and is also a farmer with about 12 hectares of land, on which he grows corn, beans, peanuts, and cassava. On his farm he uses traditional tools and hires young men to do field labour. Because of his age and health, he is unable himself to clear more than one hectare for planting.

In a good year, he produces about 5 hectares of cotton, with a total output of 7 to 8 tonnes and a profit of 400,000 to 600,000 FCFA (approx $732 to $1098 ). However, this past year, he fell into debt, partly because of a fall in yields and also because of poor rains.

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