The first pieces of furniture – stools, pedestal tables, doors, tables – made from particle board
base of cotton stalks came out of pilot units in each of the three countries – Benin, Mali and
Togo – from the Valorization of cotton stalks in particle board project (VATICOPP).
The regional project, financed by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), is managed by the
West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) and coordinated by
the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Benin (INRAB) in collaboration with the University of Agriculture
of Kétou (Benin), the Institute of Rural Economy of Mali and the Togolese Institute of Agronomic Research.
Since 2018, the manufacture of these particle boards has been under experimentation with the production
of panels of 9 mm, 12 mm and 18 mm in size and the manufacture of various pieces of furniture, indicates the
CORAF.
The raw material is available. According to a study by Tropicultura, the annual production potential of
cotton stalk in Benin, Mali and Togo would be more than 1.33 million tons. Valorization of the stems of
cotton can increase the income of cotton growers but also develop local manufacturing
of particle board and therefore to limit imports, mainly from China and
India, and to save foreign currency.