They say the money that rich countries use to back their farmers - more than $1bn a year - is artificially boosting world supply, and reducing the prices that poorer West African producers can earn.
Trade negotiators for the so-called "Cotton 4" West African states - Chad, Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso - believe that removing US cotton subsidies alone could boost West African cotton farmers' income by up to 10%.
A report published by the Fairtrade group - which pays premium prices for organically-produced agricultural goods to stabilise incomes in poor countries - says an increase of this magnitude can make a huge difference.
Working with co-operatives in Mali, Fairtrade says the extra money generated by the premium prices it pays has boosted school enrolment for farmers' children and allowed them to build a basic health clinic.
In parts of southern Mali, the report says, the extra money generated by organic cotton farming has boosted school enrolment to 95%, compared with a national average of 43%.
Cutting the cotton subsidies, Fairtrade argues, could deliver similar advantages to non-organic farmers."
I know that instead of subsidies for American farmers, perhaps tax cuts can be used.
In general agricultural subsidies in the US impoverish the rest of the world. As a developed nation, we should be moving more and more towards our comparative advantage, and allowing other nations to produce agricultural goods. We have a strong agricultural lobby which is essentially blocking both of our economies from evolving into the optimal arrangements.
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