World Cotton Day

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Source: Press Information Bureau

Recently the Union Minister of Textiles addressed WTO on World Cotton Day and  announced the 2nd phase of cotton TAP(Technical Assistance Programme) for 5 more African Countries on World Cotton Day

About World Cotton Day

• At the initiative of the Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali), the WTO hosted the first World Cotton Day in Geneva on October 7, 2019
• The WTO Secretariat organized the event in collaboration with;

1. The Secretariats of FAO
2. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
3. The International Trade Centre (ITC) and 
4. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)

• Objectives 

1. Give exposure and recognition to cotton and all its stakeholders in production, transformation, and trade.
2. Engage donors and beneficiaries and strengthen development assistance for cotton.
3. Seek new collaborations with the private sector and investors for the cotton-related industries and production in developing countries.
4. Promote technological advances, as well as further research and development on cotton.

• During the speech the Union Textiles Minister said that it is fitting that Mahatma Gandhi has been chosen as the icon for the World Cotton Day and to mark the celebration of the first World Cotton Day, India will gift a replica of Mahatma Gandhi’s Charkha to the WTO
• This event stems from the Cotton-4’s official application for the recognition of a World Cotton Day by the United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the importance of cotton as a global commodity.

About cotton TAP(Technical Assistance Programme)

• India implemented a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for cotton in 6 African countries, namely – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda from 2012 to 2018.
• In the five-year-long second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia, and Tanzania. 
• The Cotton TAP programme will now cover 11 African countries including the C4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali). 
• The Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) covers the following broad areas: 
  1. Increasing cotton production (area expansion and productivity enhancement)  
  2. Improving Extension & Support Service 
  3. Efficiency  Enhancing R&D/ Quality Control  
  4. Marketing/Distribution Infrastructure  
  5. Strengthening/development of cotton residue-based value addition industry  
  6. Creating/Strengthening Downstream Industry in Textiles and Clothing

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