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Agriculture in Burkina Faso
While regular cotton production amounts to over 700,000 tonnes and has accounted for a large slice of Burkina Faso's total exports, the production of organic cotton has also increased dramatically, from some 5 tonnes in 2004 to 240 tonnes produced by some 1,500 farmers in 2007. The innitial project was set up by the Swiss group Helvetas, and the cotton has achieved certification by ECOCERT and by the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation International. This crop initially found its way into the German and Swiss market, though other Western buyers, including Marks and Spencer and Victoria's Secret (Limited Brands), also began purchasing organic cotton from Burkina Faso. In July 2007, Limited Brands, along with Alok Industries and MAS Intimates, signed an accord with the National Union of Cotton Producers of Burkina Faso (UNPCB) to advise it on improving organic cotton production. As part of the agreement, Limited Brands purchased 600 MT of organic cotton ($1.2 million) in 2007 from the UNPCB, which constituted the largest single purchase of organic cotton in Burkina Faso. This was followed by an additional 600 MT ($732,000) purchase in 2008. These direct purchases, as opposed to going through middlemen, allowed cotton producers to retain 80% of the final price of their crop.

To ensure that the cotton would be certified organic, UNPCB received assistance from the USAID-sponsored West Africa Cotton Improvement Program (WACIP), which trained thousands of farmers betwen 2007 and 2009 and provided funds to acquire locally-made cotton sacks and wrapping materials.

Organic cotton
Organic cotton production in Burkina Faso has also greatly increased since 2004. The Union Nationale des Producteurs de Coton du Burkina Faso has received technical assistance and training from the USAID-supported WACIP program to improve organic cotton production and received its largest ever organic cotton purchase by Limited Brands in 2007.

Union Nationale des Producteurs de Coton du Burkina Faso
The Union Nationale des Producteurs de Coton du Burkina Faso (UNPCB) (English: National Union of Cotton Producers of Burkina Faso) is an organization of Burkina Faso cotton farmers founded on April 15, 1998.

Organization
The UNPCB consists of some 325,000 farmers who are organized into 12,254 groups of cotton producers (GPC). These small groups were created in 1996 to enhance production and improve the provision of credit and agricultural inputs to farmers. The GPC are organized into 280 departmental unions of cotton producers (UDPC), which in turn form 26 provincial unions of cotton producters (UPPC). The UNPCB is the overall a body of these cotton farmers, and its 10-person leadership council was elected by a general assembly of representatives from the cotton producing provinces.

Partnerships
The UNPCB has received assistance from a number of international organizations, including Helvetas, the European Union, the World Bank, the French Development Agency, the Association of Producers of African Cotton (AProCA), and Oxfam International.

UNPCB has received assistance to expand its organic cotton production from the USAID-sponsored West Africa Cotton Improvement Program (WACIP). In July 2007 UNPCB signed an agreement on organic cotton with Limited Brands, Alok Industries, and MAS Intimates. Limited later made what was the largest ever organic cotton purchase from UNPCB in 2007, amounting to 600 MT ($1.2 million), which was later retailed by Victoria's Secret. The increased revenues generated from selling organic cotton allowed the UNPCB to support local village projects by contributing 34 FCFA for each kilogram of organic cotton sold. Farmers also reeceived 17 FCFA extra for each kilogram of organic cotton.