We are thrilled to unveil our highly anticipated 2022 Annual Report, a testament to OCA’s relentless pursuit of a transparent, responsible, and resilient organic cotton supply chain. Our vision remains steadfast: prioritizing farmer prosperity and empowering stakeholders to achieve their sustainability goals. Despite the challenges posed by a two-year lockdown, we have managed to accelerate our efforts.
Here are some highlights from the 2022 Annual Report:
Better Income for more Organic Cotton Farmers
In 2022 OCA managed to successfully bridge the gap between conventional and organic farmers’ earnings for the sixth year in a row. By working with over 74,000 farmers, we tripled farmer numbers compared to the previous season, and these farmers earned, on average, 6% more in net profit from their cotton per hectare than their local non-organic peers. Last year also gave way to upgraded data reporting and an exclusive platform to monitor key insights for our work at the farm project level.
13 New Organic Cotton Training Modules
2022 saw the launch of our Organic Cotton Training Curriculum the first organic cotton growers’ training package developed in over a decade. Available in English and Hindi, the curriculum is a standardised trainer’s package on organic agronomic best practices. The Curriculum is publicly available to benefit the entire organic cotton sector and beyond. OCA has additionally invested in a Learning Management System Platform to support virtual training and easy access to the materials, directly online or via a mobile app, for field staff of its field partners. A Pakistani version of the training is planned for a release in the second half of 2023.
OCA Launched in Pakistan
After a successful pilot implemented in 2021-22, we kicked off our fieldwork in Pakistan in 2022. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the country during the summer of the same year, with floods affecting millions of people and over one million hectares of agricultural land. Crop losses, especially cotton, were severe, disturbing the livelihoods of farming communities. In the 2022-23 season, we onboarded 1,274 cotton farmers across the Baluchistan and Punjab region on the journey towards organic, in a challenging context. Together with our local partners, we developed market linkages, set up two seed trials, and welcomed OCA’s first team member in Pakistan. We have also provided organic cotton farmers with organic fertilizers and bio-pesticides to produce the cotton.
A Growing Community
During 2022, OCA welcomed six organisations as new Contributors: Bonprix, G-Star RAW, Levi Strauss & Co, Norlanka, The Sting, and Yumeko, bringing OCA’s global platform to 38 total Contributors before the end of the year. We further prepared the ground to welcome our long-standing Implementing Partners to our community of Contributors. With OCA’s Implementing Partners formally becoming Contributors, we strengthen the voice of the producer organisations in our platform for the years to come.
Unlocking Investment in Organic and Regenerative Practices
Funding is critical to meet the rising demand for organic cotton worldwide. That’s why in 2022, we unlocked more investment in organic and regenerative practices with the support of our strategic partners and donors. It allowed us to boost investment in the training and support of farmers converting to organic agriculture. We also rolled out a network of demonstration farms to help showcase the benefits of organic and regenerative farming practices; with the aim of increasing the adoption of these practices across the many villages we work in.
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Read the report here.
