In sub-Saharan Africa 20 million people live off cotton.Two years ago cotton farmers had sold their raw cotton for 42 cents per kilograms while they could earn only 35 cents per kilo in 2005 and this year the price had fallen still further to 33 cents.

Farmers in western Burkina Faso are under no illusion that a large harvest would bring them more money, although they have been clearing extra land this year for extra cultivation.

More than 6 million Burkinabé depend on the cotton trade in one way or another, this steady depletion of income has grave consequences for the country, as well as for other producers in the West African region.

Much of the blame for this state of affairs is laid at the door of the United States, which stands accused of driving down prices through the subsidies it provides to its 25,000 cotton farmers. World Bank and International Monetary Fund would have already stopped such production in African countries.

The collapse of negotiations last month in the Swiss city of Geneva means that farmers face a bleak future.