Transforming cotton farming communities, one woman farmer at a time

Tarsila, a cotton farmer in her 60’s from Mohancot village in India, has spent much of her life caring for others. As a nurse at the local public health centre, she saw a troubling rise in skin ailments and cancer cases among her community, many belonging to indigenous tribal populations. Concerned about the potential link to the heavy reliance on chemical inputs in local farms, she decided to explore alternatives to cultivate her family’s land.

When the Organic Cotton Accelerator and its Implementing Partner, Pratibha Syntex, introduced organic farming practices to her village, Tarsila embraced the opportunity. What began as a personal decision to switch to organic farming has grown into a mission to empower her community—especially women—to take charge of their land and their families’ futures.

Across India, women are the backbone of agriculture. A 2024 study suggests agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for 80 percent of all economically active women in the country, yet they remain systematically underrepresented in land ownership, training programmes, and decision-making. Despite their integral role in farming operations, from sowing seeds to harvesting crops, women are frequently denied access to the resources, education, and opportunities they need to succeed. Organic Cotton Accelerator, a multistakeholder organisation fully dedicated to organic cotton working with over 110,000 farmers in India, Pakistan and Türkiye, is working to shift this dynamic.

The barriers women farmers face

India is the world’s largest producer of organic cotton, and home to the vast majority of smallholder organic cotton farmers. Yet women farmers remain locked out of leadership and economic opportunity. The gender gap in agriculture, including organic cotton, is fueled by three systemic barriers: limited land rights, low financial literacy, and exclusion from training programmes. These programmes often prioritise male landowners, who typically hold organic certification. As a result, women’s decision-making power is curtailed, leaving them dependent on other family members to access quality inputs, credit, and fair markets.

This exclusion has deep consequences. Women farmers, despite their expertise and labour, are often sidelined from leadership roles, knowledge-sharing platforms, and income-generating opportunities. Bridging this gender gap is not just a matter of equity; it’s essential for strengthening India’s organic cotton sector and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for farming communities.

Toward an inclusive organic cotton sector

At OCA, we believe organic cotton is the catalyst for a truly sustainable textile sector. We envision a future where, every time a farmer switches to organic cotton, there is a ripple effect of positivity. Farmers earn more and have access to better working conditions and secure livelihoods. Their land and soils are regenerated, biodiversity thrives, and together we contribute to combating climate change. We call this the Organic Cotton Effect. As an accelerator, we want to get to this future, faster.

One of the pathways to this future is empowering farmers through capacity building. Gender inclusion is central to these efforts. But gender is only one axis of inequity. Women farmers in India who belong to marginalised communities such as Dalits and Adivasis, often face compounded barriers rooted in caste, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. For these women, access to resources, education, and economic opportunities remains even more elusive. OCA’s approach recognises these intersecting forms of disadvantage and addresses them by delivering a programme that empowers marginalised farmers and advocates for frameworks that promote equitable opportunities across the organic cotton supply chain.

Building pathways for women farmers

Since 2022, OCA has strengthened its cascading capacity-building model by rolling out the Organic Cotton Training Curriculum across all its farmer communities in India. OCA’s training resources cover agronomic practices, cultivar performance, procurement, and, since 2024, decent work—including gender empowerment—to improve local practices and farmer livelihoods.

On the ground, OCA collaborates with a network of Implementing Partners who are advancing gender-inclusive initiatives and enabling environments for women by facilitating access to training, leadership roles, and income-generating opportunities through allied activities like animal husbandry, horticulture or input preparation.

Training workshops, led by OCA’s Implementing Partners, ensure field staff members gain seasonal knowledge through on-site demonstrations, which they then pass on to farmers. This approach combines top-down knowledge sharing with on-the-ground insights, as OCA’s team regularly visits farms to gather case studies.

Women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are central to this approach. Many FPOs now include women on their boards of directors, giving them a voice in decision-making processes that affect their farms and futures. Demonstration plots managed by women farmers help foster peer-to-peer learning and community leadership, enabling women to share knowledge and build supportive networks.

Meanwhile, bio-input centers and plant nurseries run by women provide access to organic inputs, such as compost, growth boosters and pest-repellants, serving as hubs of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable agriculture. These initiatives are embedded within OCA’s broader Decent Work strategy, ensuring that gender equity is prioritised across all areas of its Farm Programme.

The impact is tangible. In the 2023-2024 season, 38% of the farmers participating in OCA’s Farm Programme were women, and 90% of them received specialised training in organic best practices. These numbers reflect more than statistics, they illustrate the real-life impact of OCA’s capacity building efforts.

Tarsila’s legacy: leading change beyond the fields

With OCA’s support, Tarsila has gained access to non-genetically modified seeds, technical knowledge, and premium payments on top of the market price for her cotton. But her influence extends far beyond her own fields. She has become a role model for neighbouring farmers, some traveling from distant villages to seek her advice on organic cultivation techniques.

“Organic cotton cultivation has made us self-reliant and strengthened our connection to farming,” Tarsila says, noting how switching to organic practices has reduced her input costs and improved her family’s health and nutrition.

When women farmers gain control over their resources and incomes, they are able to pay for their children’s education, improve their homes, and purchase assets like jewelry, which in rural India often doubles as financial security. For many, managing their own bank accounts is a first step toward financial independence.

“A long journey, but we are moving”

The road ahead requires collaboration

To drive the work on the ground, OCA is continuously growing its collaboration with like-minded organisations. Success depends on the support and collaboration of all value chain actors, including brands, suppliers, institutional and philanthropic donors, civil society organisations, and farm groups. OCA invites partners to join this transformative journey and accelerate the organic cotton effect, ensuring that every thread of cotton carries a story of dignity, farmer prosperity, and positive change for all farmers, including women.

For organic cotton and agriculture to thrive, women must be involved and rewarded. When women farmers succeed, their children, families, and communities gain access to better opportunities and improved livelihoods.

When women farmers rise, we all rise.