(Ecofin Agency) - In Burkina Faso, cotton output will stand at 750,000 Mt in the 2016/17 season, due to good weather conditions, revealed the minister of agriculture, Jacob Ouedraogo.

The new output is 150,000 Mt up compared to the previous season. The increase is, according to the official, due to a better quality of the crop.

Indeed, 100% of seedlings used in cultivating the crop this season are traditional seedlings of higher quality than the genetically modified seedlings previously used.

In 2016, Burkina Faso turned away from genetically modified coton seedlings provided by U.S. firm Monsanto, claiming their products was of poor quality. This impaired the reputation of Burkina’s cotton, subsequently the revenues of the crop’s producers.

In regards to this dispute with Monsanto, Reuters indicates that talks are ongoing over the financial compensation for the losses caused by GMO seedlings.

Burkina Faso is West Africa’s leading cotton producer.