Five ways cotton production can help achieve Zero Hunger
Strong links between cotton production and food crops present opportunities — and a couple of challenges — for the food and nutrition security of smallholder farmers
One of the 20 most important commodities in the world, accounting for 30 percent of all textile materials consumed globally, cotton is part of a huge industry and of our daily life.
The cotton value chain is responsible for 350 million jobs. These include farmers in 150 countries, many of whom are smallholders who rely on their crops as their main source of income.
Interestingly, the cotton industry is also linked to food and nutrition security. But, how? Smallholder farmers who grow cotton also grow food. They need to combine cotton production to that of 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 will 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 or sugarcane, to ensure productivity and reduce the use of pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
In Africa, 750,000 cotton smallholder farmers are certified. This means they use sustainable practices to ensure quality not only of the cotton they produce, but also of the food the grow alongside it. Certification is expected to reach 2 million smallholder farmers by 2025. If we increase certified cotton production, we will 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 large-scale production is concentrated in five countries (India, China, the United States, Pakistan and Brazil), millions of farmers grow cotton in 150 countries. Cotton farming is a viable income generation alternative for smallholder farmers as they have a stable and vigorous market for their crops.
However, if cotton has a guaranteed market, but the food farmers grow alongside it doesn’t . So here is the first challenge: how to ensure these farmers have a stable market for their food crops too? With every challenge, comes an opportunity.
3. Local food purchase
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest buyer of staple foods 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 represent 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 in Africa? 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 linking thousands of farmers who produce tons 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
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.
