Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani announced the launch of the second phase of the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for Africa at the Partners Conference in Geneva on October 7, 2019.
Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (TAP)
In the five year long second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia and Tanzania.
The Cotton TAP programme will now cover 11 African countries including the C4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali). India implemented a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for cotton in 6 African countries, namely – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda from 2012 to 2018.
Smriti Zubin Irani said that it is fitting that Mahatma Gandhi has been chosen as the icon for the World Cotton Day and to mark the celebration of the first World Cotton Day, India gifted a replica of Mahatma Gandhi’s Charkha to the WTO.
A live demonstration of the Charkha was arranged by Pitta Ramulu, National Award winning weaver from India.
About World Cotton Day
World Trade Organisation, WTO hosted the first World Cotton Day (WCD) celebrations in Geneva on October 7, 2019.
At the initiative of the Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali), the WTO hosted the launch of World Cotton Day on 7 October 2019.
Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani represented India in the five-day event of World Cotton Day observed at Geneva that began on October 7.
World Cotton Day will celebrate the many advantages of cotton, from its qualities as a natural fibre, to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption. World Cotton Day will also serve to shed light on the challenges faced by cotton economies around the world because cotton is important to least developed, developing and developed economies worldwide.
