• West African Development Bank allocates $131.8 million to support cotton sectors in Burkina Faso and Mali

• Mali receives funding to back 2025–2026 harvest and processing of 433,700 tonnes of seed cotton

• Burkina Faso secures financing for agricultural inputs to sustain production growth

West African Development Bank has allocated CFA75 billion ($131.8 million) to finance the cotton sectors in Burkina Faso and Mali, as both countries seek to sustain production and strengthen competitiveness.

The bank aims to secure current and upcoming agricultural campaigns in both countries. The financing forms part of 17 new operations approved for a total of 501.5 billion CFA francs at its latest board meeting held in Senegal.

Mali will receive CFA25 billion to partially support the 2025–2026 cotton campaign of the Compagnie malienne pour le développement des textiles, a state-owned company established in 1974 to oversee the cotton industry.

The funding will cover harvesting and ginning activities for around 433,700 tonnes of seed cotton processed into fiber.

Mali remains a major cotton producer in West Africa. However, the sector faces structural challenges linked to climate constraints and security risks. According to Trade Map data, cotton exports generated $69.7 million in 2024, compared with $256 million in 2020, reflecting a sharp decline over the period.

Nevertheless, Mali targets production of more than 650,000 tonnes of seed cotton for the 2026–2027 season. This target represents an increase of more than 50% compared with the estimated output for the current campaign.

Burkina Faso will receive CFA50 billion to finance the purchase of 120,000 tonnes of agricultural inputs for the 2026–2027 cotton season.

The funding aims to ensure that producers maintain productivity and secure yields. Authorities expect seed cotton production to reach 336,812 tonnes in 2025–2026, marking a 15% increase compared with the previous campaign.

According to a December 2025 report by the United States Department of Agriculture on the global cotton market, both Mali and Burkina Faso rank among the top ten African countries in cotton yields.

Mali recorded yields of 0.53 tonnes per hectare, while Burkina Faso achieved 0.46 tonnes per hectare in the 2023–2024 season. However, both countries lag behind higher-performing producers such as Cameroon, which leads the ranking with 1.54 tonnes per hectare, followed by Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, Benin, and Nigeria.

Sandrine Gaingne