West Africa’s first organic cotton gin is coming up in Burkina Faso. The gin, in Burkina Faso, is a collaboration between the USDA-funded RECOLTE project, CRS, UNPCB, and SOFITEX. US textile industry NGO, Textile Exchange, recently announced the launch of a Regional Organic Roundtable to help develop the organic cotton sector in West Africa. The discussion is part of a new collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on a series of organic cotton focused activities in West Africa. These include a Market Opportunity Scoping Project (MOSP) and a documentary-style video showcasing the region’s organic cotton sector.

The launch of the organic roundtable will take place in Koudougou, about 100 km from Ouagadougou, during SICOT (Salon International du Coton et du Textile), September, 27-29 2018. The Regional OCRT will focus on organic cotton and bring together key stakeholders. At present, organic cotton is ginned six months later than conventional cotton, which delays the entire production chain and payment to producers, and in turn discourages timely organic cotton production and participation.