Strict compliance with technical itineraries is the key to successful performance in cotton growing, said agro-pastoralist Ndila Baldé, vice-president of the National Federation of Cotton Producers in Senegal (FNPC) who recently visited farms in Cameroon.

''We visited in Cameroon, a center that produces 24,000 tons of cotton. This exceeds the entire annual national cotton production of Senegal. It's extraordinary ! We tried to find out how to achieve such a feat. But, our observation is unequivocal: it is just the strict respect of the technical itineraries popularized by the experts and agricultural technicians", he indicated.

Mr. Baldé, also president of the regional union of producers of Kounkané, a town in the department of Vélingara (south) spoke in the columns of the general information monthly Alkuma, ''La Voix du Sénégal Oriental''.

This general information monthly is based in the town of Tambacounda (east), a cotton producing area.

''Cotton does not lie if the producer rigorously respects the recommended technical itinerary. When we went to Cameroon, we noticed that producers have been making more than three tons per hectare for several years. Even better, we visited a center that produces 24,000 tons. This exceeds the entire annual national cotton production of Senegal. It's extraordinary ! We tried to find out how they achieve such a feat, ”said Ndila Baldé.

According to him, in clear terms, it is necessary to sow as early as possible in order to have early sowings. ''You have to start well in time before spreading and covering all the fertilizer supplied to the producer. Weeding also should not be neglected and the other very important step is phytosanitary treatment,'' he explained.

''By respecting these cultivation techniques, a Cameroonian producer can produce four or even six tonnes per hectare. In addition, it rains a lot in this country (in Central Africa),'' said Ndila Baldé, a former emigrant to Spain, who returned home permanently to invest in agriculture and breeding.

He also said that with the current producer price for cotton, plus the government subsidy to farmers for access to equipment, cotton growing is "encouraging today".

''Senegal not only has the best producer price for cotton (300 FCFA per kg or 300,000 FCFA per tonne) in all of Africa, but agricultural equipment and inputs are very accessible. We are expecting around 20,000 tonnes of cotton production at the national level this year,'' continued Ndila Baldé.

''Apart from the State subsidy, the agricultural equipment (the sine hoe, the seeder, the plough, the scorers, etc.) is given to the producer on credit, repayable over four years. To cultivate one hectare of cotton, the producer only invests 125,000 FCFA. Even by increasing the quantity of purchases, he only spends a maximum of 200,000 FCFA,'' he explained.

He assured that by producing three tons per hectare, the farmer has a turnover of 900,000 FCFA including 700,000 FCFA in net profits.

“In addition, thanks to the support of SODEFITEX (Textile Fiber Development Company), the producer does everything at home and in complete safety,” added the vice-president of the National Federation of Cotton Producers to the Senegal which operates several hectares in Saré Bourang, its locality in the commune of Kounkané.

''Imagine the net profit of a producer who sows 20 or even 50 hectares while respecting these new farming techniques, how many salaries will he be able to pay? Cotton cultivation has a future because it enriches more than any other sector in Senegal. I want those who make peanuts to discover cotton,” he said.

Mr. Baldé recalled having started with an area of half a hectare to cultivate cotton in 1973, at the age of 18. From 1973 to 2019, he said he regularly achieved yields of around 2 tonnes per hectare.

Ndila Baldé assured that for the 2020 wintering season, his family planted three hectares while he himself cultivated 1.5 hectares. “And, for the first time in 47 years, I got 3,094 tonnes per hectare,” he said.