Study: U.S. subsidy cut would help Africa

DAVIS, Calif., June 21 (UPI) -- Stopping payment of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to U.S. cotton farmers would improve the lot of millions of poor Africans, a report said.

The plan also would mean a cut U.S. cotton production and imports but improve the world market by raising prices by about 10 percent, the new study by the aid group Oxfam said.

Monetary help for Africans would be modest, the study conducted by agricultural economists at the University of California in Davis said, but would be a big help.

The study showed that a typical farm family of 10 in one of Africa's major cotton producing areas earning $2,000 a year would get an extra $46 to $114 a year if U.S. subsidies were removed, The New York Times reported.

"Subsidy reform alone will not resolve all the challenges facing the cotton sector," Oxfam said. "But it could significantly ease the burden on poor cotton farmers struggling to support their families."