Cotton growers in the US have been invited by the US Cotton Trust Protocol to join its five-year ‘Climate Smart Cotton Program’ that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry.
The goals of the program are to ensure that the US cotton farmers will adopt CSA practices on 1.2 million acres. The target is to obtain 4.2 million bales of CSA over five years. For this purpose, Cotton Protocol Trust intends to enroll 1650 cotton farmers. The CSA plan, if implemented successfully, would reduce carbon dioxide emission by 1.14 million tons.
The applications are invited from September 1, and approval would be granted on a first come first served basis. Those approved will receive technical and financial support, among other benefits.
President of the US Cotton Trust Protocol Gary Adam expressed the hope that Climate Smart Cotton Program takes the US industry to the next step by utilizing the trust protocol’s foundational reputation and its program partners’ expertise so that growers can learn, grow and explore new opportunities for reducing climate impacts.
The other partners of the Climate Smart Cotton Programme include Cotton Council International, Cotton Incorporated, the Soil Health Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Agricenter International, Alabama A&M University, and North Carolina A&T State University.
US Climate Smart Cotton Program aims to reduce carbon print by over a million ton
