Cotton Expert House Africa and Cotton made in Africa at the BMZ’s theme day

Posted on 5 Feb, 2018 by Jan Sass

Sustainability begins out in the field – Cotton Expert House Africa and Cotton made in Africa at the BMZ’s theme day “From the cotton field to the clothes hanger” - The African cotton and textile industry makes a major contribution to economic, social and environmental development in rural, often poverty-stricken regions of Africa. In Africa, cotton is mainly produced by small farmers – some 20 million people there live directly or indirectly from cotton production. The BMZ has long supported government and private sector initiatives to promote sustainable cotton production and to serve as a basis for the development of the African textile industry.  For the BMZ’s theme day “From the cotton field to the clothes hanger”, which was conducted as part of the International Green Week in Berlin, the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Dr. Gerd Müller, met with representatives from the Cotton Expert House Africa and the textile standard “Cotton made in Africa” to discuss the major challenges facing Africa’s cotton and textile industry.

The BMZ is particularly interested in the development of solutions to strengthen small farm operations’ capacities for their local economic partners. For this purpose, the BMZ will provide up to 8 million euros in subsidies for support measures that are implemented by the Cotton Expert House Africa. The support measures are aimed at expanding sustainable cotton production in 16 African countries. In announcing the funding program, Federal Minister Müller highlighted the importance of the private sector’s participation in the funding, which is to reach a total financial volume of up to 20 million euros. With the symbolic handover of a “cotton house,” the Federal Minister launched the cooperation with the Cotton Expert House Africa.

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