Key issues and actions facing the cotton sector in India

Industry leaders from the Indian organic cotton sector agreed it was time for action when they met for an inaugural Organic Cotton Roundtable in Indore on 19-20 March 2014, according to CottonConnect. The Organic Cotton Roundtable was organised by CottonConnect and curated and funded by the C&A Foundation. It involved over 170 people from the industry - cotton farmers, farm groups, ginners, spinners, brands, certification bodies, NGOs, government officials and key cotton buyers from all over India. A report outlining their agreed actions has now been published, entitled Time for Action: Key Issues and Actions Facing the Cotton Sector in India.

One of the primary actions agreed on is to set up an Organic & Fair Cotton Secretariat which will build an environment for developing responsible organic cotton supply chains, create a credible Indian organic brand, and enhance livelihoods for smallholder organic cotton farmers. In addition to establishing the secretariat, other key actions identified in the report are a focus on seed supply, supporting seed research and development, sharing good agricultural practices, improving efficiencies in organic supply chains, improving integrity and use of certification and improving transparency and 100% certification. More information is available here.