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Cotton stalks, which were previously destined to burn or rot in the fields, will now be recycled for use in the manufacture of plywood, after the VATICOPP (Valorisation des tiges de cotononnier pour la fabrication des panneaux à particules) project took delivery of three particleboard manufacturing units.

The handover of these three manufacturing units and a machine for testing the quality of the panels produced was held during the week of April 14-16, 2018 in Nagpur, a city in central India, in the presence of a technical manager from the VATICOPP project.

After a long negotiation process, the machines are now ready, and the conformity test was carried out in the presence of Dr Paul HOUSSOU, Agro machinist and Head of the Agricultural and Agri-food Transformation Program in Benin", emphasizes a note from the project, which adds that "the test results showed that the particleboard produced with cotton stems from the Nagpur station is resistant to stretching and crushing at a pressure of 15kg/cm2 or less".

The technology for manufacturing particleboard from cotton stalks is already widespread in India and the USA, both major cotton producers.

Now it's West Africa's turn to add value to cotton stalks, in order to improve cotton growers' incomes, increase local processing and added value, and create jobs through the manufacture of plywood.

The project (VATICOPP) involves three pilot countries: Benin, Mali and Togo.

Indeed, in September 2014, the Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles (CORAF) and the Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) had signed a financing agreement worth 1,500,000,000 FCFA for the implementation of a research program around the Union's five priority commodity chains of corn, cotton, livestock/meat, poultry and aquaculture.

As part of its efforts to improve the performance and competitiveness of the cotton sector, CORAF has financed this project to valorize cotton stalks in the manufacture of particleboard, coordinated at regional level by the Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques du Bénin(INRAB) in collaboration with the Institut Togolais de Recherches Agricoles(ITRA) and the Institut d'Economie Rurale du Mali(IER).

The main aim of this project is to add value to cotton harvest residues by incorporating cotton stems into the manufacture of plywood for tables, chairs, upholstery, etc.

It should be noted that most of the cotton stalks produced after the harvest, estimated at over 1,600,000 tonnes in Benin, Mali and Togo, were burnt in preparation for the following season. Only a tiny fraction is used for organic fertilization, livestock feed and firewood.

West Africa and cotton

West Africa is one of the main cotton-producing regions in Africa. The cotton and textile industries employ nearly 10 million producers and more than a million workers. During the 2016/2017 campaign, production in the sub-region increased again, with yields improving in every country.

Cotton production in the region rose overall by 5% to 4.685 million bales (480 lb) in 2017/18, compared with 4.458 million bales in 2016/17.

A study carried out by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) showed that over 90% of the region's cotton production is exported for processing elsewhere.