Cotton Development Fund [CDF] which was established in May 1999. CDF was a response to liberalization in early 1990s and change in government policy that encouraged public/private sector partnerships to promote the development of cash crops in the country. However following government disengagement from cotton production and marketing, quality and quantity of production suffered.

Production dropped from 532,440 bales of seed cotton (308,265 tons) in 1992/93 to 196,000 bales (105,560 tons) of seed cotton by 1999/00. Before trade liberalization, the Cotton Board was involved in inputs procurement and distribution to cotton unions which distributed the inputs to primary cooperative societies.

Following trade liberalization, this supply system ceased abruptly resulting in unavailability of inputs, especially pesticides. Besides, cotton research was adversely affected for lack of contributions from cotton sales. In order to secure aid from EU under STABEX, contributions from stakeholders were pronounced a necessary precondition. Donor contributions to research resumed in 1997/98.

The Government circular issued in March 2006 permitted cash crop stakeholder Funds to be free to discontinue the crop Funds if they so wished. This was part of the Agricultural Sector Reforms that encouraged the involvement of farmers and other stakeholders in contributing to the development of their respective crops through establishment of mechanisms for resource mobilization.

At a meeting in the following month, the cotton stakeholders unanimously agreed to establish a Fund to be registered as Cotton Development Trust Fund (CDTF).

CDTF was then established with a small capital base built mainly from the Cotton Act. No. 2 of 2001 Article 48 (2), CDF secured financing from the crop produced and other sources.

The cotton stakeholders’ agreement which established the Trust specifies sources of finance as the following:-
Government contributions (issued to research centres on the basis of MTEF), Farmers contributions and The Tanzania Cotton Association.

The magnitude of such contributions is agreed upon annually during stakeholder deliberations of the annual fund budget.
The Cotton Development Trust Fund was officially incorporated in 2008 under the Trustees Ordinance (Chapter 375 RE 2002).