COCHRAN COTTON FELLOWS PRAISE TRIP TO U.S.

UNCLAS COTONOU 000911 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W:DBANKS DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USTR LAGAMA DAKAR FOR MORRISON AND HANSON USDA/FAS FOR LINDSEY ITLE AND DEBBIE NIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGRBTIOBEXPETRDBN SUBJECT: COCHRAN COTTON FELLOWS PRAISE TRIP TO U.S. ¶1. Summary: The six recently returned Conchran Cotton Fellows from Benin were full of praise for their experience in the U.S during a meeting with the Ambassador on November 23, 2007. They cited the excellent orientation they received from Lindsey Itle and Debbie Nip, the courses provided by professors from Auburn University and Tuskegee University, and the visits to cotton farms and ginning factories, as highlights during their trip. The participants returned with ideas on how to improve soil fertility in Benin and productivity in Benin's ginning factories. Post identified a possible commercial opportunity for U.S. manufacturers of cotton ginning equipment after their trip. End Summary. -------------- Excellent Programming -------------- ¶2. All participants began by thanking Post for the experience they had in the U.S beginning with the orientation provided by FAS Staff in Washington. The participants in the soil fertility program were struck by the coordination they observed between universities, research institutes, and cotton producers in the U.S. They remarked the U.S. system worked well in transferring innovations from a university setting to application in the field and commented on the need for Benin to set up a similar process. They also found it useful to learn how U.S. farmers use irrigation and the renewal of organic matter in their fields to maximize their yields. ¶3. The participants in the cotton ginning program found their sessions with the technicians who developed the equipment used in Benin's cotton ginning factories particularly useful. They have already used the contacts they made during the trip to solve problems affecting their ginning equipment. They also commented on the technological innovations they saw during factory visits including a machine called the "Saw Saver" which measures the temperature of the cotton as it is ginned to avoid fires. According to the participants, Benin's cotton factories lack this equipment, which in turn results in fires which have a measurable adverse impact on the factories' productivity. The same participants noted they appreciated the explanation during the program of U.S. policies in regards to cotton subsidies and international trade negotiations and left with a better, and more sympathetic, understanding of U.S. policy. -------------- Let's Sell More Equipment! -------------- ¶4. Comment: The participants in the cotton ginning program commented repeatedly on the technological innovations they saw in U.S. ginning factories. They appreciated the systems used in the U.S. to monitor the heat and humidity of cotton during processing (noted above),the security systems in place at U.S. cotton ginning factories, and the methods used to store cotton both at the factory and in the field. U.S. companies supply much of the equipment used in Benin's cotton ginning factories. The companies running the ginning factories do not buy new equipment often and lack regular contact with the U.S. suppliers. A U.S. company which made the effort to market their supplies, especially ones which constitute technological innovations, to Beninese cotton companies would encounter a ready market. End Comment. BROWN