Project regions

Textile Exchange (2019) Africa – Organic cotton production 2018/2019, In: 2019 Organic Cotton Market Report, Textile Exchange (Hrsg.); URL https://textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/OCMR_Africa_Overview_2019.png

More than 40% of the total population live below the poverty line. Even so, Chad is a willing host country for many refugees from neighbouring countries. In the years 2019/2020, Chad received over 330,000 people from Sudan (especially Darfur), over 93,000 people from the Central African Republic and 13,900 people from Nigeria. In 2003 Chad became an oil producing country, which resulted in a considerable increase in expectations of an economic and social development. The larger part of the population still continuous to be employed in agricultural areas. Cotton, which is cultivated between the Chali and Logone rivers as a tributary to Lake Chad, is one of the main sources of export income, while the processing of raw cotton represents a significant proportion of the few industrial jobs in the country.

Sources:Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Chad, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.) URL https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cd.html, 03.06.2020,Jones, Douglas Henry & Grove, Alfred Thomas (2019). Chad, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Chad/Settlement-patterns 03.06.2020

Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Côte d’Ivoire, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.), URL <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html>

Mundt, Robert John et al (2020) Côte d’Ivoire, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL <https://www.britannica.com/place/Cote-dIvoire>

Cameroon is home to over 200 ethnic groups and is therefore displaying a large cultural diversity. While the interior and the south-west of the country are comparatively sparsely populated, larger parts of the population is concentrated in the north as well as in the west of the country around the capital Yaoundé and in the border area with Nigeria. As in many sub-Saharan African countries, the population structure is characterized by a particularly high proportion of young people. Over 60% of the population is under 25 years of age. Cameroon is undergoing an increasing migration of young parts of the population. In addition to the USA, Europe and the Near and Middle East, the destinations include countries in the immediate vicinity such as Gabon, South Africa and Nigeria. Meanwhile, with international support from Nigeria and the Central African Republic, Cameroon has taken in a total of over 410,000 refugees (as of 2020) since 2017.

Oil is the main export commodity of Cameroon. It accounts for almost 40% of exports. Other important sectors for the diversified economy are gas, wood and aluminium as well as agriculture and mining. Almost 70% of the working-age population works in agriculture. After coffee and cocoa, cotton is one of the three most important agricultural commodities. After oil, wood, cocoa, aluminium and coffee, cotton is one of the country’s main export goods. Following the introduction of cotton cultivation in 1952, it is still grown mainly by small farmers to this day. Since the beginning of the 2000s, Cameroon has strengthened its own processing capabilities of agricultural materials. This also includes the establishment of cotton mills in the country.

Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Cameroon, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.), URL https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html
DeLancey, Mark W.; Benneh, George (2020) Cameroon, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.),URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Cameroon

As a result of the political conflicts that persisted in connection with the Cold War of 1977 and 1992, an estimated 1 million landmines along roads and paths are still not cleared. The northern province of Cabo Delgado, which is rich in gas projects, is now increasingly marked by outbreaks of violence. Militant units associated with the Islamic state are pitted against private military units from Russia and South Africa, which are supporting the Mozambican military in their fight against violence. This leads to a high number of currently almost 309,000 internally displaced persons. Despite the conflicts, Mozambique is also the host country of over 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, to a small extent, from Burundi.

Almost 65% of Mozambique’s population is under 25 years of age. At almost 36%, the majority of the population lives in rural areas, with increasing migration from the countryside to the urban centers and from the interior to the coasts. In addition to this internal migration, Mozambique is also characterised by labour migration, primarily to South Africa. South Africa also plays an important role for the country as the third largest trading partner for exports and the largest trading partner for imports. Repayments from migrant workers, but also income from a growing tourism industry, as well as port and train traffic are other important sources of income in the country. The agricultural sector, meanwhile, accounts for almost one-third of GDP and employs almost three-quarters of the working age population. A significant proportion of these are subsistence farmers who produce primarily for their own consumption. Cotton is the main agricultural commodity, ahead of cashew nuts and sugar cane. It is sold on the local market and is also exported. Cotton is the country’s fourth most important export commodity after aluminium, shrimps and cashew nuts.

Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Mozambique, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.),URL https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mz.html

Penvenne, Jeanne Marie et al (2020) Mozambique, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Mozambique

Nigeria also faces massive ecological problems due to its heavy oil and gas production. Severe environmental pollution, the destruction of arable land and forests, the contamination of waters rich in fish and increasing air pollution are causing problems for the country and its people. About 90% of the groundwater is contaminated by crude oil. The government’s extensive renovation project from 2016 has also had little effect so far. For example, only 5% of the contaminated sites identified by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) are currently undergoing remediation. The focus on oil and natural gas has resulted in the neglect of agriculture, requiring costly imports to meet domestic food needs. Although around 70% of Nigerians continue to work in the agricultural sector, the agricultural sector only accounted for 24% of GDP. Another factor is the country’s inadequate infrastructure. A large part of agricultural production comes from small areas of cultivated land. The main industrial crops in the south are oil palms, cocoa and rubber trees, while peanuts and cotton are grown in the north.

Sources:
Das Länder-Informations-Portal (2020). Nigeria, In: Wirtschaft & Entwicklung, GIZ (Hrsg.), URL
https://www.liportal.de/nigeria/ueberblick

Auswärtiges Amt (2020). Nigeria, In: Außen- und Europapolitik, Auswertiges Amt (Hrsg.), URL
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/aussenpolitik/laender/nigeria-node

Dr. Toyin Falolaet. al. (2020). Nigeria, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL
https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria

Amnesty International (2020). Nigeria, Amnesty International (Hrsg.), URL
https://www.amnesty.ch/de/themen/wirtschaft-und menschenrechte/fallbeispiele/nigeria/dok/2020/shell-kein-ende-in-sicht

The Tanzanian mainland can be divided into four main climatic and topographical areas, giving the country a diverse vegetation. More than a quarter of the country’s land area is protected, so Tanzania’s national parks contain largely untouched and unspoiled landscapes. Due to this and the historically low population density of the people, the Tanzanian mainland is home to an exceptionally rich fauna. With an area of 14.764 km² the Serengeti National Park is the largest in Tanzania and one of the largest nature reserves in the world. It is estimated that more than four million animals live here, with the park having the largest concentration of large mammals living in the wild. In addition to wildebeest, lions, zebras and buffalo, there are over 400 species of birds and many other animals that one can marvel at.

However, in recent years there have been increasing reports of dwindling populations of species such as elephants, giraffes and rhinos. The main reasons for this are the encroaching spread of humans into the animals’ habitat, illegal hunting and poaching. In addition, advancing urbanisation leads to ecological challenges such as air and water pollution. For example, untreated wastewater is often discharged directly into rivers or the sea, which in turn leads to diseases and the extinction of species.

In recent years Tanzania has shown a positive economic trend with growth rates of 7%. According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), however, these have fallen to 4% for 2020. The Tanzanian economy is predominantly agricultural, with around two-fifths of the country’s population working in areas of agricultural production. The variety of different types of soils on Tanzania’s mainland exceeds that of any other country in Africa. While fertile soils can be found in the highlands and many river basins, the clay soils of the inner plateaus are of moderate to low fertility. Since rainfall varies greatly during the rainy seasons, many farmers are repeatedly faced with existential problems. In addition, the still low overall level of agricultural production leads to repeated regional famine in the region. As cash crops are a source of foreign exchange for the country, other goods are grown for export in addition to the most important food crops. Tanzania’s main export goods include gold, coffee, cashew nuts and cotton.

Sources:
Das Länder-Informations-Portal (2020). Tansania, GIZ (Hrsg.), URL https://www.liportal.de/tansania

Kenneth Ingham al. (2020). Tansania, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL
https://www.britannica.com/place/Tanzania

Politically, Togo plays a stabilising role in West Africa, having no conflicts with neighbouring countries. President Faure Gnassingbé has been in power since 2005. He is the son of Eyadema Gnassingbé, a military officer who governed Togo for several decades. This has caused political tension, but there has also been progress in recent years with regard to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Togo is one of the world’s most impoverished countries and is ranked 162nd out of 191 countries in the United Nations Development Index. The average age of its population is 20 years (by comparison, the average age in Germany is 44.7 years).

The country is densely populated, especially in the tropical south, with its 56 kilometres of coastline, as opposed to the savannah-rich north. Only around five percent of Togo’s land area remains forested, with clearcutting and desertification posing the most urgent environmental problems next to water quality and air pollution in urban regions.

Regions with agrarian economies are home to 55.5 percent of the population, and agricultural land accounts for around 67 percent of Togo’s national territory. Agriculture is practised using primarily traditional methods, largely for subsistence purposes. Cotton is one of the primary sources of income from agriculture although the total cultivation area has shrunk in recent years. In 2022, cotton accounted for 5.8 percent of Togo’s total exports, with around 500,000 people being employed in the cultivation, processing, and export of cotton.

Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Togo
https://www.bmz.de/en
https://www.reuters.com/article/togo-cotton-idINL5N2NY1W7
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/togo/

The 32 native languages in Uganda additionally bear witness to the country’s ethnic and cultural diversity. At the same time, Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations in the world. Nearly half of the population is under 14 years of age. Despite economic and social challenges, Uganda is meanwhile the host country of over more than 1.4 million refugees and asylum seekers (as of 2020) from other African countries, such as South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda and Eritrea. With officially just under 3.3 million inhabitants, the capital Kampala is the largest city in the country.

Three-quarters of the population live in rural areas. Agriculture is the central economic sector. It employs 72% of the working population, a significant part of them are subsistence farmers who produce primarily for their own needs. Oil production and its export play an increasing role in the Ugandan economy. In addition to coffee and tea, cotton is particularly of significance as the third most important agricultural export commodity. Cotton sales are the main source of income for an estimated 250,000 households. It is generally grown by small-holder farmers through rain-fed agriculture. On average, no more than half a hectare is cultivated. While a substantial part of the cotton is exported, Uganda has a small domestic textile industry. After ginning, cotton is processed by spinning and weaving mills, dyeing works and local tailors from the raw material to the finished product, and textiles are thus manufactured to a small extent ‘from field to fashion’ in Uganda.

Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Uganda, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.), URL <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html>

Cotton Development Organisation – CDO (2015) Overview of Cotton Industry in Uganda, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries (Hrsg.); URL <http://www.cdouga.org/>

Khisa, Isaac (2017, 31 Oktober) Uganda’s textile industry picking up the threads, In: The Independent, URL: <https://www.independent.co.ug/ugandas-textile-industry-picking-threads/>

Kokole, Omari H. et al (2020) Uganda, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL <https://www.britannica.com/place/Uganda/Land#ref37598>

Zambia has one of the highest rates of urbanization in Africa. At almost 55%, the majority of the population lives in rural areas, while an almost equally high proportion of the population of working age is employed in agriculture. Like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the population structure is characterized by a high proportion of young people. Almost 66% of the population are under 25 years old. The majority of the population is concentrated on the one hand on the regions of the copper belt, which extends from Lusaka to the south-west and north of the central regions, and on the other hand on the border regions with Malawi and Mozambique. In 2020, Zambia was the destination country of over 54,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic and over 30,000 other refugees and asylum seekers from Angola, Burundi and Rwanda.

By far the most important export commodity of the country is copper. For over ten years until 2014, Zambia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world due to copper mining and exports. The export of this one commodity makes the country’s economy very susceptible to price fluctuations on world markets. Falling prices in recent years have led to corresponding economic losses. In 1994 the previously para-state monopoly in cotton production was lifted. Since then, cotton production has risen, albeit at times sharply, depending on the development of the national currency. The majority of cotton production is now concentrated in the country’s Eastern Province, where, according to the World Bank, around two thirds of cotton production is concentrated. Most of the cotton is produced by small farmers, most of which, after the first stages of processing, are exported.

Sources:
Kabwe, Stephen; Tschirley, David (2009). The Cotton Sector of Zambia. In: Africa Region Working Paper Series No. 124, The World Bank (Hrsg.), URL: http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/958731468350181357/pdf/517130NWP0WPS110Box342044B01PUBLIC1.pdf

Central Intelligence Agency (2020). Zambia, In: The world factbook. CIA (Hrsg.), URL https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html

Hobson, Richard Hamilton et al (2020) Zambia, In: Encyclopædia Britannica (Hrsg.), URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambia