Cotton is part of a huge industry and of our day-to-day life. It represents 30 percent of all textile materials consumed and is among the 20 most important commodities in the world. The cotton value chain is responsible for 350 million jobs. Farmers in 150 countries grow cotton, and many of them are smallholder farmers who rely on their crops as their main source of income.
How is this immense industry related to food and nutritional security? Smallholder farmers who grow cotton also grow food. They need to combine cotton production to maize, beans, sesame, and other food crops to improve productivity and decrease the need for agricultural inputs. This association between cotton production and food crops poses some opportunities – and a couple of challenges – for ensuring food and nutrition for all.
1 – Increased certified cotton production = increased food production
By 2025, textile brands want 100 percent certified cotton. The only way smallholder farmers can get their cotton certified is by associating it to food crops. They need to combine or rotate cotton production to food items, such as maize, sorghum, sunflower, beans, rice, wheat, sugarcane, to ensure productivity and reduce the use of pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
In Africa, there are 750,000 cotton smallholder farmers certified. This means they use sustainable practices to ensure quality not only of the cotton they produce, but also of the food the grow associated with cotton. Certification is expected to reach 2 million smallholder farmers by 2025. If we increase certified cotton production, we increase food production.
2 – Income generation
Cotton crops cover 30 million hectares, or 2.5 percent of all arable land in the world. Even though its production is concentrated in five countries (India, China, United States, Pakistan, and Brazil), millions of farmers grow cotton in 150 countries. Cotton farming is a viable income generation alternative for smallholder farmers. They know they can sell their product to a stable and vigorous market, which turns cotton into an important asset for them.
The cotton they produce has a guaranteed market, but the food they grow along with cotton doesn’t – and this is the first challenge: how to ensure these farmers have a stable market for their food crops? With every challenge, comes and opportunity.
3 – Local food purchase
The World Food Programme is the largest buyer of staple food in Africa. The organization is committed to increasing food procurement from smallholder farmers, which can have great impact on local markets. WFP and other food aid organizations can contribute to creating the steady market smallholder farmers need for their food crops. School feeding programmes and other food-based interventions can also be a structured demand for food items and ensure smallholder farmers will sell their produce for fair prices.
Knowing where smallholder farmers are, what are they producing, and how much are they producing is our second challenge. Once again, cotton is here to help.
4 – Cotton can help connect farmers to markets
Remember those 750,000 certified cotton farmers? Well, we know where they are, we know what they are producing, and we know how much of it they are producing. We can build an efficient supply chain by integrating thousands of farmers who produce tonnes of food with school feeding programmes and other food-based interventions. Ensuring access of these products to markets means ensuring the food security of the smallholder farmers and their communities.
5 – Food quality
This is not all. We also know how the food is grown and can assure its quality and safety. Smallholder cotton producers receive sustainability certification for the good practices they apply to cotton production, but they use the same good practices to grow food. If the school feeding programme, for example, buys food items from these farmers, children in schools will receive high-quality, safe meals.
Bonus: Cotton by-products
In many cotton-producing countries, besides the difficulty of finding markets for associated food crops, smallholder farmers miss the opportunity of selling cotton by-products. There is usually an assured, growing market for the cotton fibre, but selling the remaining seed oil and cake may be difficult. Helping them selling these products can also boost their income and improve their families’ food security. Cottonseed oil is highly nutritious and can be used in school meals. The residual cake, which is the solid matter that remains once oil has been extracted from the seeds, can be used to feed cattle.
The Beyond Cotton project is a joint initiative of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, with support from the Brazilian Cotton Institute. It aims to support smallholder cotton producers and public institutions in African countries to connect cotton by-products, such as seed oil and cake, and associated crops, such as maize, sorghum and beans, to reliable markets, including school feeding programmes. The Beyond Cotton initiative will contribute to generate income for the smallholder farmers and to increase food and nutrition security in rural areas.
