Sustainable cotton production
Promoting sustainable cotton farming
Although a fairly resilient plant, cotton requires disciplined agricultural practices to achieve good yields and to ensure it meets the quality requirements for textile production.
Through long-term relationships with local cotton farmers who supply our gins in Africa, we are supporting programs to improve agricultural practices, help farmers increase their incomes and deliver benefits to cotton growing communities. We are also working with industry partners and associations, such as the International Forum on Cotton Promotion and the International Cotton Advisory Committee, to support and promote sustainable cotton production practices.
Agricultural management and quality training for cotton farmers
We are supporting efforts to teach farmers better agricultural management practices to help improve land preparation, improve soil management, plant crops at the right time, and promote safe and efficient fertilizer and pesticide application. Our training activities provide regular and valuable agronomic advice directly to thousands of farmers through our ‘Farmer Days’, training sessions, local language newsletters and radio programs.
Cargill is currently supporting farmer training projects including the Union Project in Zimbabwe, sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the South African government; and in Malawi and Zambia in partnership with the South African Agricultural Research Council and the Southern African Development Corporation. As a result yields have increased in some locations from 700kg (1540 lbs) per hectare (per 2.5 acres) to 2,200kg (4840 lbs) per hectare (per 2.5 acres), which is increasing farmers’ incomes, improving living standards, and enabling farmers to better utilize their land for both cotton and food crops.
Providing financial support to farmers
We provide essential financial, technical and in-kind support to farmers to enable them to access necessary crop inputs, such as planting seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Through our network of cotton buying stations, we manage, source and distribute these inputs for farmers, which otherwise prove very difficult for farmers as they are based in rural areas with poor roads and infrastructure. In Zimbabwe, we operate a credit scheme on an in-kind basis to protect farmers from currency fluctuations caused by the economic instability, enabling farmers to access planting seeds in return for cotton at harvest time. During 2006/07, Cargill provided over US $4 million worth of inputs to 60,000 farmers, supporting whole communities at a time of economic uncertainty in the country. In the countries where we have ginning operations, cotton producers are mainly small-scale farmers, so these schemes also stimulate farm productivity and provide technical advice, support and training.
Improving price transparency and prompt payment
We are providing farmers and local traders with transparent information on international market prices through our network of cotton buying stations in Southern Africa and our local trading offices in other countries. We are also ensuring farmers are paid promptly for their crop. In Zimbabwe, we pay farmers immediately in cash so they do not have to wait several weeks to receive payment. This has improved the cash flow of individual farmers and also reduced the number of unnecessary and long journeys that farmers have to make to the buying stations.
Seed improvement and preservation
We are working with farmers to preserve and maintain stocks of high quality planting seeds to safeguard and sustain germination rates. In Zambia we are working in partnership with the Seed Control and Certification Institute on an extensive seed improvement program, which is enrolling farmers in entire cotton growing areas and identity preserving breeder seed.
