The "Cotton Problem"

Baffes, John

Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank

关键词: ACREAGE;    ADVERSE EFFECTS;    ADVERTISING;    AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE;    AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY;   

DOI  :  10.1093/wbro/lki004
RP-ID  :  76746

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Cotton is an important cash crop in manydeveloping economies, supporting the livelihoods of millionsof poor households. In some countries it contributes as muchas 40 percent of merchandise exports and more than 5 percentof gross domestic product (GDP). The global cotton market,however, has been subject to numerous policy interventions,to the detriment of nonsubsidized producers. Thisexamination of the global cotton market and trade policiesreaches four main conclusions. First, rich cotton-producingcountries should stop supporting their cotton sectors; as aninterim step, transfers to the cotton sector should be fullydecoupled from current production decisions. Second, manycotton-producing (and often cotton-dependent) developingeconomies need to complete their unfinished reform agenda.Third, new technologies, especially genetically modifiedseed varieties, should be embraced by developing economies;this will entail extensive research to identify varietiesappropriate to local growing conditions and theestablishment of the proper legislative and regulatoryframework. Finally, cotton promotion is needed to reverse orat least arrest cotton s decline as a share of total fiber consumption.