Togo: Togo's Cotton Farmers Rebuild Soils And Cut Pest Treatments

What the report says

Cotton growers in Togo are increasingly using regenerative farming methods to improve depleted soils, raise yields and reduce pesticide use, according to an AllAfrica report based on Bird Story Agency material. The story says the shift is being promoted by the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT), which introduced the program in 2023 to help farmers cope with land degradation, irregular rainfall and rising production costs.

The report focuses on farmers such as Badakizi Yawa in Bagbé, who says training at a farmer field school taught her to use pheromone and sticky traps to monitor cotton pests. She says that has reduced the number of crop protection treatments on her eight hectares. The article also highlights farmer groups in Assoumakope and other areas that are learning zero tillage, crop rotation, intercropping, erosion control, and the use of biochar and bokashi as soil amendments.

NSCT says more than 37,000 farmers have been trained in zero tillage and 36,650 in crop rotation, while thousands more have been trained in other techniques. The company reports stronger yields in some field-school groups, though results vary and the article cautions that the gains cannot be attributed to regenerative practices alone. It notes that cotton remains an important export crop and livelihood source in Togo, making soil restoration and input reduction significant for both farm incomes and household food security.

The report also mentions an ongoing research effort involving NSCT, the University of Lomé and the University of Essex to examine how regenerative agriculture can scale further in Togo’s cotton sector.