XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
French West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Compulsory cultivation in French West Africa was introduced as part of the colonial war effort and later sustained through price supports and administrative production schemes. Cotton cultivation expanded, while the Office du Niger incorporated compulsory planting into its programme. During the Depression, small-scale African production of coffee and cocoa grew sharply, helping create the monetary income needed for taxation and contributing to the eventual decline of forced crop cultivation.
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Le récit
Compulsory cultivation was introduced in the French federations in 1916 in connection with the war effort. Cotton became one of its principal targets, and the system was maintained after the war through the artificial support of prices by French subsidies. In French West Africa, administrative production therefore combined coercive planting requirements with commercial mechanisms intended to preserve export agriculture.
The Office du Niger later incorporated compulsory cotton cultivation as one of its major ideas. Specially developed village centres, first established in 1937, failed because administrators could not solve the demographic problem and because the cotton variety produced low yields. Its selling price fell from 1.25 francs in 1928 to 90 centimes in 1929, 70 centimes in 1931, and 60 centimes from 1933 to 1936.
The Depression nevertheless encouraged a different form of expansion. African smallholders increased production of coffee, cocoa, bananas, and cotton in order to compensate for falling incomes and currency values. In AOF, exports rose spectacularly in 1936: coffee increased from 5,300 to 43,500 tonnes and cocoa from 6,700 to 49,700 tonnes. Ready money from these crops helped meet the head tax and contributed to the elimination of forced cultivation.
XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
French West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Compulsory cultivation in French West Africa was introduced as part of the colonial war effort and later sustained through price supports and administrative production schemes. Cotton cultivation expanded, while the Office du Niger incorporated compulsory planting into its programme. During the Depression, small-scale African production of coffee and cocoa grew sharply, helping create the monetary income needed for taxation and contributing to the eventual decline of forced crop cultivation.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Compulsory cultivation was introduced in the French federations in 1916 in connection with the war effort. Cotton became one of its principal targets, and the system was maintained after the war through the artificial support of prices by French subsidies. In French West Africa, administrative production therefore combined coercive planting requirements with commercial mechanisms intended to preserve export agriculture.
The Office du Niger later incorporated compulsory cotton cultivation as one of its major ideas. Specially developed village centres, first established in 1937, failed because administrators could not solve the demographic problem and because the cotton variety produced low yields. Its selling price fell from 1.25 francs in 1928 to 90 centimes in 1929, 70 centimes in 1931, and 60 centimes from 1933 to 1936.
The Depression nevertheless encouraged a different form of expansion. African smallholders increased production of coffee, cocoa, bananas, and cotton in order to compensate for falling incomes and currency values. In AOF, exports rose spectacularly in 1936: coffee increased from 5,300 to 43,500 tonnes and cocoa from 6,700 to 49,700 tonnes. Ready money from these crops helped meet the head tax and contributed to the elimination of forced cultivation.