By Ali Idrissou-Toure
COTONOU, Jun 23 1999 (IPS)

Farmers in Benin have refused to grow cotton unless last season’s remuneration, which amounts to 7 billion CFA franc, has been settled by the state-owned National Agricultural Promotion Company (SONAPRA).

One US Dollar is equal to 550 CFA francs.

According to sources close to the SONAPRA, cotton producers have barely put in their crop this season. By mid-June, only five percent of fields had been sown, compared to the usual 20 to 25 percent planted this time of the year.

The 450,000 tonnes of cotton, which Benin produces annually, is the country’s principal source of foreign currency revenue. It is also the state’s biggest source of funds, but which has been falling in the past few years.

In January, SONAPRA’s contribution to state coffers was only 3 billion CFA francs, or less than half the 6.7 billion budget for last year, according to the National Assembly’s budgetary committee.

SONAPRA, which invites tender for fertilizer order and markets cotton seed, also owes almost 3 billion CFA francs to local transporters.

A few months ago, the debt burden was even worse. The government was forced to borrow from European banks to help wipe out at least part of the slate clean.

SONAPRA claims it itself is a victim of clients who refuse to pay bills, totalling some 35 billion CFA francs, according to a recent official estimate.

The local media claim the root of SONAPRA’s problems are bad management. According to newspapers, the company handed over large quantities of cotton fiber to shady businessmen, providing no financial security.

Inoussa Yabara, the general director of SONAPRA, tried, in a statement on June 14, to “reassure the public, and farmers in particular of an ongoing and encouraging audit of SONAPRA’s debts vis-à-vis cotton seed producers”.

The statement attests that the bank loans made for this agricultural season are being managed well, even though, as the general director acknowledges, the on-going negotiations have been “very difficult”.

The company’s financial situation has barely improved, even though the Beninois head of state, Mathieu Kerekou, requested the assistance of consultants from Cote d’Ivoire to sort out the mess.

Kerekou chaired a meeting in April of all SONAPRA’s debtors, where a debt-recovery committee was created. However, no information has been made available on the committee’s progress, leaving many Beninois skeptical.

Excerpt: