According to a recently published report by BCI, in 2016 over 600,000 farmers benefitted from the Better Cotton GIF due to a 43% growth in BCI Retailer and Brand Members.
The Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) — a Fund set up by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative — is well under way to meet BCI’s target to reach 5 million farmers by 2020. Next to a growing number of farmers and participating companies, in 2016 the Better Cotton GIF was also able to invest over €8.9 million in more sustainable cotton farming in seven major cotton production countries: India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal.
The Better Cotton GIF Annual Report, unveils how the Fund has contributed to these targets with stories from seven production countries, and provides insights from organisations large and small that are collaborating through the Better Cotton GIF to make cotton production more sustainable.
According to Alan McClay, CEO, BCI “In 2016, we launched the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund, a global project portfolio designed to be a catalyst for transforming cotton production by achieving scale and impact. The Better Cotton GIF portfolio needs to grow rapidly over the next four years to keep BCI on track to achieve our ambitious targets, transitioning from hundreds of thousands of farmers — more than a third of the total farmers reached by BCI with its partners — to millions. And to achieve scale, we must innovate, an important facet of BCI that will become increasingly significant as we grow.”
When we talk about the success of 2016 Better Cotton GIF annual report, it is said that the Better Cotton GIF supported Better Cotton production in seven countries: India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal. Major successes for the Better Cotton GIF in 2016 include:
- Strengthened relationships with governments in India and Pakistan;
- The highest-ever annual national production of Better Cotton in China; and
- An exemplary cooperative model of delivering farmer training and capacity building in Tajikistan
The below table shows the number of farmers reached by the Better Cotton GIF in 2016 and the amount of Better Cotton they produced.
To view full report click here.
