| 08 October 2009, Cape Town |
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- It was recommended that Biosafety regulations must be in place to introduce, test and commercialize biotech cotton crops.
- A breakout Session on Cost Reduction in the Value Chain to be conducted.
- The Committee encourages research and the adoption of new practices that promote productivity.
- Some Members of the ICAC voiced support for the creation of an international research center for cotton, and the Standing Committee was directed to give this proposal further consideration.
- The Committee reaffirmed that Farmer Field Schools combined with demonstration plots are the most effective form of communication with smallholders. Agricultural research and extension should receive increases in public sector support .
- Working with institutes of higher education is an efficient and cost effective vehicle to accomplish cotton promotion.
- The Committee reaffirmed its support for the position that cotton was a test of the development dimension of the Doha Round. There will be no conclusion to the Doha Round without a resolution of the cotton question, and a satisfactory conclusion of the cotton dossier depends on the conclusion of the Doha Round.
- The issues of contract defaults and harmonization of trade rules are so important that ICAC is urged to include these issues for discussions in an open session during the next Plenary Meeting. Wider audiences and governments should be involved in the discussion on how to improve industry competitiveness, discourage defaults on valid arbitral awards and to harmonize trade rules.
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