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 Southern 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 program. Cargill is currently supporting farmer training projects including the Union Project in Zimbabwe, sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organisation 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 per hectare to 2,200kg per hectare, 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.
Supporting cotton growing communities
The political and economic circumstances of many of the countries in Southern Africa are challenging and Cargill’s operations have provided much needed economic and community investment, especially in rural areas where access to basic infrastructure is limited. Our investment, support and the active participation of our employee volunteers are delivering real benefits to local communities.
Safe drinking water program – many of the regions within our cotton communities have poor or limited access to safe drinking water. In response we are building fresh water wells in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, each serving communities of up to 200 people and have plans to build more wells to provide a safe, clean water supply.
School building and educational projects – our support is helping build new schools and classrooms in rural cotton growing communities where these much needed facilities are enabling local children to have better access to education. We are building new schools and classrooms for local communities in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as providing books, stationery, school supplies and support to teachers and students at agricultural schools in Malawi. We have also supported a school for mentally disabled children in Zimbabwe by providing a bus to transport children to and from the school, refurbishing the playground, building a water well, and establishing a vegetable garden and chicken run to help the school generate more income.
Community development projects – with the help of employee volunteers in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya we have supported activities, which are helping improve local, rural communities. These activities include constructing a grinding mill to increase income generation opportunities in the community, building playgrounds for local children, supporting orphanages and refurbishing schools. In Malawi, we are supporting Hope Village, an organization set up to provide a comprehensive orphan care program in the Shire district, where there are relatively few projects of this nature. Cargill’s support for Hope Village will secure their school feeding program and day care support initiative for a year. In Kenya, we have supported the Kenya Red Cross’ emergency relief services efforts.
HIV/AIDS awareness programs – effectively managing HIV/AIDS and how it impacts our employees and the communities where we operate is essential to the way we work. Our health education programs for all employees in Southern Africa, in partnership with local health authorities, provide information about HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis to improve understanding about how the diseases are spread, prevent infections and encourage behavioral change. Employees also have access to counseling, support and voluntary testing, and free condoms are also provided at all our locations. In Côte d'Ivoire, we are working with industry partners to sponsor a HIV/AIDS awareness program run by the Aga Khan Development Network, which is holding educational workshops and open days in cotton farming communities in an effort to halt the growing infection rate in the country.
Supporting responsible labor practices
Cargill is concerned by claims in relation to abusive or enforced labour in the cotton growing industry. We do not accept the use of illegal, abusive or enforced labour in any of our operations and we abide by the laws in the countries in which we operate.
Cotton is an essential source of income for economies and families in cotton producing countries, where significant proportions of the population depend on the crop for their livelihoods.
The cotton supply chain is complex, with multiple stages, and we believe it is essential that all those in the supply chain work together with governments, local communities and non-governmental organizations to help find practical, achievable and sustainable solutions, whilst fostering responsible economic development. We welcome and are supportive of the initiatives being undertaken by The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) to work with organizations, such as the International Labor Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and governments to help address this.
Improving our environmental performance
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond the farm gate. All of our cotton gins comply with our stringent corporate environmental policies and are working to support our corporate goals to improve energy efficiency, increase use of renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce fresh water use.
Cotton ginning has a low environmental impact, operating for less than six months of the year following the harvest and using minimal resources. All of our ginning operations use renewable energy, which they source from hydroelectric schemes in their region. All of the waste produced is reused or recycled, including the wastewater and the discarded plant material, which is composted and given to farmers to mix with fertilizers.