African Textile Industry Expands With Cotton Trade

The African textile industry is growing as nations leverage local cotton production and trade agreements to boost manufacturing and employment.

Economists have long argued that the route to prosperity for the continent must involve building a thriving textiles industry. Several African countries have already been relatively successful in establishing themselves as players in the global textile manufacturing industry. Notably, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar and Mauritius have used preferential trade arrangements under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act to become significant garment exporters.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali are the top African producers, but the ‘white gold’ is grown in a total of 37 African countries. This means the continent has more cotton-growing nations than any other region, giving the industry a strong foundation for expansion. However, climate change poses a severe threat to these ambitions.

Rainfall Patterns and Irrigation Debates

Increasingly frequent and severe droughts are making it more difficult to grow cotton across several of Africa’s leading producer countries. Togo suffered a 66% decline in production between 2019 and 2023, largely due to erratic weather and pest outbreaks. “Climate change represents a severe and growing challenge for smallholder cotton production in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Alexandra Perschau, head of cotton standards at the non-profit Aid by Trade Foundation. “Because almost all African cotton is grown using rain-fed agricultural systems, small-scale farmers are uniquely vulnerable to changing weather patterns.”

Not only is unpredictable rainfall disrupting crop yields, but the changing climate is also causing pest behaviour to change. This puts African cotton growers at greater risk of devastating infestations. With a major El Niño event on the way, and unmistakable signs that longer term rainfall patterns are becoming less predictable, the outlook remains uncertain.

Concern over climate impacts on cotton has been building for several years. Research commissioned by the multi-stakeholder Cotton 2040 initiative warns that rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns will pose a severe threat to half of the world’s cotton-growing regions by 2040. It notes that the growing season is likely to become shorter because of temperature extremes in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ghana, while droughts will pose major hazards across the Sahel belt.

Given that the dependence on rain-fed growing methods is increasing the impact of drought, the obvious solution would appear to be to turn to artificial methods of storing and utilising water. The World Bank is a major advocate for investing in irrigation as a way to support cotton growers and other crop producers in drought-prone countries. Funding for improved irrigation is a key component of a $215 million project announced in March to strengthen agriculture in Burkina Faso, one of Africa’s traditional cotton giants.

A previous programme run by various World Bank agencies along with local cotton buyer SOFITEX in Burkina Faso reports that it achieved a 23% increase in yields among farmers that received assistance to improve irrigation. While irrigation has historically relied on major dams and diesel-powered pumps, more sustainable solutions are increasingly coming into view. Several companies are working to scale-up solar-powered irrigation pumps in Africa, although the upfront cost of this equipment remains problematic.

Despite the push for irrigation, there is a fierce debate about whether it is the right answer. Perschau tells African Business that artificial irrigation from surface or groundwater sources is “strictly prohibited” under the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) certification scheme. “This is because operating irrigation pumps leads to high energy costs, depletes aquifers and causes soil salinisation,” she says. The ban on irrigation “protects precious water resources,” Perschau adds, noting CmiA certified farmers typically use just two litres of water per kilogramme of cotton – an astonishingly low figure compared to the global average of 1,500 to 2,100 litres.

Perschau argues there are better ways for cotton growers to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil. One option, she says, is to use biochar, a charcoal-like substance that boosts soil health. Cover cropping can also help to reduce evaporation, she adds. “African cotton growers can build resilience against climate change by adopting sustainable and regenerative practices,” Perschau says, pointing out that using local resources and tapping into local knowledge will also help “reduce dependency on imported fertilisers and pesticides.”

The International Trade Centre, a Geneva-based multilateral agency, is another advocate of using biochar as a climate-friendly solution to boost cotton yields. A spokesperson for the ITC told African Business that it had seen “astounding results” from a programme in Tanzania and Zambia, in which farmers use the stalks from cotton plants – traditionally seen as a waste product that is burned after harvesting – to produce biochar. “The biochar reduces soil acidity and also keeps moisture longer in the soil. Together with the natural fertiliser of bokashi, the pilot farmers in both countries almost doubled their yields with some even tripling their productivity. Applied country-wide that could change the entire cotton sector and as such the attractiveness for textile investments.”

While there is no doubt that climate change will pose a severe challenge for cotton in Africa, the snapshots of success achieved through simple technologies and improved growing methods show that all is not lost. Indeed, despite challenges from climate change in almost all major cotton producing countries, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization projects that yields in 2035 will be 15% higher than today. This optimistic view is based on new technologies, including smart irrigation systems to help manage water use, as well as drones and satellites that enable improved monitoring of plant health.