This week 18 researchers from Brazil, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chade, Mali and Togo gathered in Bamako, capital of Mali, to share the results obtained from the experience of the growing cotton in no-till farming systems in each country. The training of African researchers in no-till farming systems marks the beginning of the second stage of the project Technological strengthening and dissemination of good agricultural practices for cotton in the C-4 countries and Togo. "Cotton-producing African countries consider it to be a main driver of development, but it is also necessary to protect the soil to ensure the sustainability of the production system", affirms the coordinator of the Cotton 4 + Togo project, José Geraldo Di Stefano. This year there will also be capacity-building events that especially target the technicians working at the research stations, vulgarizers (multipliers), and growers, and are structured around the three technological axes of the project, no-till farming, Integrated Pest Management and cotton plant management. To strengthen the adoption of the technologies disseminated by the project within the dynamics of different production systems in the five countries, nineteen Community Learning Units were set up. "These units will allow us to measure with precision the results of Integrated Pest Management, the performance of the different cotton varieties, and especially the effect of no-till farming on the crops", he explains. Di Stefano stresses that capacity-building and the renovation of the research stations are the main foundations of the C-4 + Togo at its second stage. ""The revitalization of the laboratories will provide the necessary support to deal with the difficulties of the production system, strengthening the opportunity for the elaboration of research projects, and will thus consolidate the importance of research institutions in their respective countries", he states. The event started on Monday (29th) and will continue until Friday (2nd). The opening ceremony included the presence of the director of Mali Institute of Rural Economics (IER), Boureima Dembele, the secretary-general of the Malian Ministry of Agriculture, Daniel Siméon Kelema, Brazilian embassy chargé d'affairs, André Bueno, the general head of Embrapa Cotton, Sebastião Barbosa, and the general coordinator of the Africa, Asia and Oceania division of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Nelci Caixeta. Cotton 4 + Togo Developed by Brazil in partnership with Benin, Burkina Faso, Chade, Mali and Togo, the project Cotton-4 + Togo aims to help the five African countries develop the cotton sector by increasing productivity, genetic diversity and the quality of the cultivated product. The project is coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) jointly with Embrapa. During the first stage, which started in 2010, lasting results were achieved, including the implementation, in Mali, of an office complex, an entomology laboratory to breed natural enemies of the main cotton plant pests in the region, a cold chamber to store genetic resources, a shed to process samples, and space for an energy generator. Moreover, the soil and biotechnology laboratories were renovated. The new stage aims to contribute to increased competitiveness of the cotton production chain in the C-4 countries and Togo, adapt competitive technologies to cultivate cotton in smallholdings, and strengthen capacities in partner institutions for the development of technological solutions that are suited to the cotton production sector in partner countries. Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros