This spring, the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) hosted a series of key partner events in India, Pakistan and Türkiye. Through monitoring visits and seasonal workshops, OCA deepened collaboration with the trusted partners, who are central to delivering the Farm Programme—now reaching over 100,000 organic cotton farmers in these key production regions.
India: setting the season in motion
On April 14 and 15, OCA hosted a Season Kick-Off Workshop in Delhi, bringing together Implementing Partners (IPs), seed producers, and third-party verifiers to align priorities for the 2025–2026 season. The two-day event drew over 40 participants representing 20 IPs, underscoring the strength of OCA’s community in India.
Among the Implementing Partners (IPs) were Arvind, SIED, Amiha, PAPL, ASA, TCMCF, AKRSPI, PSL, Prime Organic, Ecopal, MGP, Green Agro Magic, BioRe, Shree Ram Fibre, Srijan, COFE, Suminter, Square, RPG Foundation, Pratima Agro, Solidaridad, Spectrum, RadheSham, KK Fibrees, and Agrigenic. Participants from the spinning community included Armstrong, RSB Cottex, and Shri Bhaghirath. The workshop also welcomed Seed Partners and technical partners such as Traidcraft, Glocal, CAPL, Seed Trial, Partech, Parshv, Paras, and Nuziveedu.
Sessions focused on expanding thematic priorities—Decent Work initiatives, a new climate insetting model, and biodiversity. “Our future lies in deepening impact, not just scaling organic cotton but embedding fairness, climate resilience, and biodiversity at the farm level,” said Shankhamala Sen, OCA’s Programme Implementation Manager, who led key sessions.
The launch of the OCA Farmer Modules, a multilingual onboarding toolkit designed for farmers working with OCA, was one of the highlights of the meeting. “This module isn’t just a guide; it’s a step towards empowering farmers with knowledge and ownership,” Sen emphasised.
Lively group reflections explored key topics including digital payments, gender integration, and certification. Our partners also shared valuable input on public affairs, recognising their role in influencing policymakers to support organic cotton farmers.
OCA’s India team also hosted Agronomic Workshops in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Facilitated by training partner AHRDO, the event combined classroom and on-field learning, including demonstration using a simple rope to show the interconnections between soil, microbes, and crops.
“Participants leftft not only better trained but deeply motivated to bring their learning to life,” said Lucina Yeasmin, OCA’s Agronomy Officer.
Pakistan: a growing ecosystem
On April 24 and 25, OCA also held its Pakistan Season Kickoff Workshop to mark the start of the new programme year. The sessions aimed to reflect on recent progress, set field priorities, and deepen alignment across the country’s growing organic cotton ecosystem.
“What set this year’s kickoff apart was not just the robust agenda but the highly relevant and diverse participation,” said Azaz Mehdi, OCA’s Programme Officer for Pakistan. “We welcomed both current and potential partners, reinforcing an inclusive approach that helps extend OCA’s reach and amplify our shared vision.”
Participants included a wide array of organisations across the cotton value chain and academia: Bestseller (BST), Artistic Milliners, Soorty Enterprises, Artistic Fabric, Interloop, Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), MG Apparel, Nuscot, CABI, AgriCir Impact, Rural Education and Economic Development Society (REEDS) Pakistan, Rural Business Development Centre (RBDC), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at University of Karachi, SAWIE Ecosystem, Premium Textiles, Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), and Hyacinth.
The sessions prompted rich discussion and reflection, with participants offering insights from the past year and voicing strong enthusiasm to work with OCA moving forward. The tone was forward-looking, with shared goals around trust, transparency, and collaboration. This momentum lays a strong foundation for the year ahead, as OCA continues to scale impact with and through its partners in Pakistan.
Türkiye: listening, learning, and improving
Also in April, OCA carried out a multi-day monitoring visit to Türkiye, visiting Implementing Partners, ginneries, and farmers. OCA’s local team conducted targeted farmer group discussions, gaining valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities facing stakeholders on the ground.
A key feature of the visit was the participation of our partners supporting adaptation of the Organic Cotton Training Curriculum (OCTC) for Türkiye. By attending IP and farmer meetings, their project managers gathered critical, context-specific insights to localise the curriculum for better farmer outcomes.
“The visit provided the opportunity to assess programme delivery from a monitoring and evaluation lens. With the involvement of OCA’s Monitoring & Evaluation team, and in coordination with the local third-party verifier, we identified clear areas for improvement. These insights will inform updates to ensure support remains locally relevant and high-impact,” said Ömür Suner, OCA’s Programme Manager for Türkiye.
As always, insights from the monitoring visit will be woven into OCA’s ongoing efforts to adapt, refine and deepen its programme in Türkiye.
