By Marcela M. Nicodemus, Ambassador of Brazil to Kenya
Solidarity is one of the basic principles of Brazil’s foreign policy.
The Federative Republic of Brazil is governed in its international relations, by, among others, the principle of “cooperation among peoples for the progress of humanity”.
It is in this spirit that for three decades, through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), it has been involved in technical cooperation with Latin American, Caribbean and African countries in a wide range of sectors, including the fight against hunger and poverty, agriculture, public security, public health, environment and education.
Dubbed South-South cooperation, the technical cooperation provided by Brazil is based on the relationship between equals and is driven by demand of the beneficiary countries.
SOVEREIGNTY
Brazil observes the principle of non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of the partner country, based on participatory practices, joint governance and appreciation of the capacities of the partner countries.
Currently, the main Brazilian cooperation initiative in the East African region is the Cotton Victoria Project, whose objective is to contribute to improving the competitiveness of the cotton sector in Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.
Since last year, experts from the Federal University of Lavras (Minas Gerais, Brazil) have been working in the Lake Victoria region with technicians from each of the partner countries.
COTTON FARMING
Brazil aims to improve the techniques of cotton farming through training professionals and transfer of genetic seed material.
Brazilian experts will then pass on knowledge in rural extension to small-scale farmers and will evaluate the structure of the local cotton production chain.
The cooperation is expected to generate good results and the knowledge acquired on the shores of Lake Victoria will be applied in other regions of Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.
Technical cooperation for the development of cotton in Africa is a result of two factors.
TECHNICAL COOPERATION
The first is the Cotton Initiative, a manifesto against the practice of subsidies to cotton farming by developed countries, presented to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in May 2003, by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali (called the countries of the C-4 group).
In 2006, Brazil expressed support for the Cotton Initiative and started to offer technical cooperation in the cotton sector to the C-4 countries.
The second factor was the resolution of the cotton dispute between Brazil and the United States at the WTO.
Brazil alleged that the US had been granting subsidies to its cotton sector.
SUBSIDIES GRANTED
With the WTO ruling in favour of Brazil, the US had to compensate Brazil for the subsidies granted.
Since 2012, part of the resources paid as compensation was allocated to finance Brazilian cooperation on cotton.
In addition to the Cotton Victoria Project, Brazil also coordinates the Cotton 4+Togo Project (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Togo), the Shire Zambezi Project (Malawi and Mozambique) and projects in Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Haiti.
Technicians from developing countries are sponsored to Brazil to attend courses in cotton production.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
As the fifth largest cotton producer in the world, Brazil knows from its own experience the importance of the sector for economic and social development.
Cotton can play a central economic role in African countries, generating jobs and income throughout the entire production chain; from the small-scale farmer to the seller of the final product.
The Brazilian Government is committed to assisting African countries, including Kenya, to increase productivity of cotton fields and improve the value chain of the product. It’s time for Africans to wear “Made in Africa” clothes.
