[1] In 1910, the French colonial administration organized market production on a limited scale under the direction of the military governor.
[1] The French saw cotton as the only exploitable resource for the colony and as an effective means of introducing a cash economy into the area.
[1] France's motives were clear: it sought to ensure a source of raw materials for its home industries and a protected market for its exports abroad.
[1] France reorganized village administration by replacing traditional chiefs with individuals more amenable to the colonial power, which assured the proper cultivation of the cotton crop and the collection of taxes.
[1] Moreover, in this land of difficult transport, areas producing a cash crop also needed to be able to grow enough food for their people.
[1] Since 1980 the quality has remained high at initial sorting, with white cotton representing more than 95% of the crop and accounting for 98% of production in 1984.
[1] Cotontchad, successor to Cotonfran, was founded as a parastatal company in 1971 to collect, buy, gin, transport, and export the cotton crop.
[1] The CSPC's task was to stabilize prices paid to peasant producers by funding operating losses incurred by Cotontchad.
[1] The CFDT also contributed to the smooth operation of Cotontchad through technical agreements to maintain equipment and to provide expertise in improving cropping methods through the ONDR.
[1] The CSPC also received portions of funds needed to assure payments to producers from Cotontchad as well as from the central government.
[1] In addition to Stabex, the EC's European Development Fund (EDF) contributed directly to the program of improving yields.
[1] FAC also provided direct assistance to the government, which, among other things, helped pay the salaries of officials and functionaries, especially those in the ONDR.
[1] Prices paid to Chad's cotton producers, the peasants of the southern soudanian zone, have risen slowly over the years.
[1] From 1971, when the distinction arose, to 1978, the price for white cotton was CFA F50 per kilogram and stayed at this level during much of the period of heavy civil conflict until 1982.
[1] With World Bank backing and support from France, the Netherlands, and the EC, restructuring of Cotontchad began in 1986 with government implementation of the Emergency Cotton Program.
[1] At the company level, Cotontchad sold nonessential assets to the private sector (including two aircraft and about 150 vehicles), closed its branch office in Bangui, Central African Republic, and laid off administrative staff.
[1] It also closed six ginneries and reduced the number of cotton collection centers in accordance with the production target of 100,000 tons.
[1] For its part, the government exempted Cotontchad from taxes, particularly export duties, and suspended its contributions to the CSPC, the ONDR, and the Debt Amortization Fund (Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement—CAA).