Farmers are leaving cotton for soybeans and cashew nuts
Across West Africa's cotton belt, four nations are entering the 2026/27 growing season with targets that reveal as much about their anxieties as their ambitions. Benin seeks to defend a hard-won regional crown, while Burkina Faso and Mali chase recovery from disappointing harvests through bold volume pledges and government subsidies. Côte d'Ivoire faces a quieter but more structural reckoning — not a shortage of land or capital, but of farmers willing to stay. Together, these announcements ask an old question in a new season: can state support hold together an agricultural tradition when the market is pulling growers elsewhere.
- Benin is spending aggressively to stay on top, raising its fertilizer subsidy budget by over 20% and offering farmers a per-kilogram bonus once the 700,000-ton threshold is crossed.
- Burkina Faso is swinging for a 69% production rebound after a bruising season, with cotton companies themselves financing a price freeze on fertilizer to coax farmers back into the fields.
- Mali is pursuing a territorial strategy — expanding planted area by nearly 18% to 630,000 hectares — while bracing for pest threats that could undermine even the most ambitious planting plans.
- Côte d'Ivoire's crisis is not one of inputs or investment but of exodus: nearly one in five cotton farmers abandoned the crop last season for soybeans and cashews that simply pay better.
- The entire region is wagering that subsidy and incentive can outcompete market logic — a bet whose outcome will shape West Africa's cotton legacy for years to come.
West Africa's four largest cotton producers have unveiled their targets for the 2026/27 season, and the numbers sketch a region pulled in different directions at once.
Benin, which overtook Mali to claim regional leadership last season, is pressing its advantage. A target of 700,000 tons — nearly 8% above last year's harvest — is backed by a fertilizer subsidy budget raised to 31.87 billion CFA francs and a production bonus for farmers once that threshold is crossed. The government's message is unambiguous: it intends to stay on top, and it is prepared to pay for that position.
Burkina Faso and Mali are both chasing recovery. Burkina Faso, which produced just over 314,000 tons last season, is targeting 532,000 — a 69% leap financed in part by cotton companies freezing fertilizer prices for growers. Mali, stung by losing its long-held regional crown, wants 598,500 tons and plans to expand cultivated land by nearly 18%, while fighting off the jassid pest that farmers consider one of the sector's gravest threats.
Côte d'Ivoire's challenge is of a different nature entirely. Two consecutive seasons of declining output have been accompanied by a 20% drop in the number of active cotton farmers, many of whom have migrated toward soybeans and cashews. The country's 400,000-ton target for 2026/27 is achievable only if the industry can persuade those growers to return — a problem no subsidy alone can solve.
What the season ahead will ultimately test is whether government commitment can hold together a crop culture that market forces are quietly dismantling, and whether West Africa's cotton identity can endure when more profitable alternatives keep beckoning from the next field over.
West Africa's cotton belt is gearing up for an ambitious season. The region's four largest producers have just announced their targets for 2026/27, and the numbers tell a story of ambition, recovery, and quiet desperation—all happening at once in fields across Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Benin, which claimed the regional crown last season by overtaking Mali, is doubling down on its newfound position. The government has set a target of 700,000 tons of seed cotton for the coming year, a nearly 8% increase from what it just harvested. To make that happen, officials are sweetening the deal for farmers: a 10 CFA franc bonus for every kilogram produced once the country crosses that 700,000-ton threshold. They've also pumped up the fertilizer subsidy budget by more than a fifth, to 31.87 billion CFA francs—roughly $56.9 million—to help growers manage the rising cost of inputs on global markets. The message is clear: Benin wants to stay on top, and it's willing to spend to keep farmers committed.
Burkina Faso, by contrast, is chasing a comeback. Last season was brutal—the country produced just 314,293 tons, a disappointing result that left officials determined to bounce back hard. For 2026/27, they're targeting 532,000 tons, a 69% jump that would be among the largest year-over-year gains anywhere in West Africa. To support that surge, the government has frozen the price of a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer at 17,500 CFA francs through a 15.8 billion CFA franc subsidy ($27.4 million) financed by cotton companies themselves. It's a gamble on volume: if farmers can plant more and protect their crops better, the numbers could work.
Mali is in a similar position, hungry to reclaim the leadership it lost to Benin. The country is aiming for 598,500 tons in 2026/27, up nearly 38% from last year's 433,700 tons. The state-owned cotton company, CMDT, plans to expand the planted area by almost 18% to 630,000 hectares. That expansion will demand more fertilizer, more pesticides, more insecticides—most of it subsidized—and much tighter management of pests, particularly the jassid, which farmers regard as one of the sector's most destructive threats. Mali's strategy is territorial: plant more, protect harder, hope the yields follow.
Côte d'Ivoire is taking a different road, one marked by caution and concern. After two consecutive seasons of declining production, the country's cotton industry is facing a structural problem: farmers are leaving. The Professional Association of Cotton Companies estimates that the number of cotton growers fell by nearly 20% to just under 80,000 during the last season. Many have switched to soybeans and cashew nuts, crops that offer better returns. For 2026/27, Côte d'Ivoire is targeting 400,000 tons, a 29% increase from the previous season—but that goal hinges entirely on the industry's ability to win farmers back. It's not a production problem; it's a retention problem. Without farmers, even the best subsidies and incentives mean nothing.
What emerges from these announcements is a region in motion, each country pursuing its own calculus. Benin is consolidating power through investment. Burkina Faso and Mali are betting on recovery through volume and subsidy. Côte d'Ivoire is trying to rebuild trust in a crop that has stopped paying. The coming season will test whether government support can overcome market forces, whether farmers will plant what officials want them to plant, and whether West Africa's cotton dominance—a legacy that stretches back generations—can survive the pull of more profitable alternatives.
Notable Quotes
Benin introduced a per-kilogram bonus for production exceeding 700,000 tons and raised fertilizer subsidy budget by 22.5% to $56.9 million— Benin government announcement
Mali's CMDT plans to expand planted area by nearly 18% while managing pests like the jassid, considered one of the sector's biggest threats— Mali's Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des Textiles
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Benin's bonus system matter? It seems like a small incentive.
It's not about the size of the bonus—it's about the signal. Benin is saying: we believe in 700,000 tons so much that we'll pay extra if you help us exceed it. That's confidence, and confidence moves farmers.
But Côte d'Ivoire is offering subsidies too. Why isn't that working there?
Because subsidies only work if farmers still want to grow cotton. In Côte d'Ivoire, they've already decided cotton isn't worth it. A cheaper bag of fertilizer doesn't change that calculation when soybeans pay better.
So this is really about profitability, not production capacity?
Exactly. All four countries have the land, the labor, the knowledge. What they don't have is control over what farmers choose to do with those resources. Benin's winning because it's offering both support and growth incentives. Côte d'Ivoire is losing because it's only offering support for a crop farmers have stopped believing in.
What happens if Burkina Faso and Mali both hit their targets?
Then Benin's lead shrinks fast. Mali alone is targeting 598,500 tons—that's close to Benin's 700,000. If both recover as planned, the regional hierarchy shifts again. But that's a big if. Last season they both underperformed. Subsidies help, but they don't guarantee results.
Is there a risk these subsidies become unsustainable?
Absolutely. These are expensive commitments—tens of millions of dollars per country. If global cotton prices fall or harvests disappoint again, governments will face pressure to cut support. That's when farmers really start looking at alternatives.