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ICAC Recorder Highlights Organic Cotton During the Southern and Eastern African Cotton Forum
For Immediate Release
Date Posted: 15 September 2022
Executive Summary
Highlights from the most recent ICAC Recorder include:
Date Posted: 15 September 2022
Executive Summary
Highlights from the most recent ICAC Recorder include:
- Low productivity and yields have plagued Africa's cotton sector for decades
- Many researchers now consider organic cotton as the solution for two primary reasons:
- The cost of fertilisers in African nations is prohibitive
- Regenerative practices like organic production can help improve soil fertility and health
ICAC Recorder Highlights Organic Cotton During the Southern and Eastern African Cotton (SEACF) Forum
During the most recent meeting of the SEACF, speakers and attendees spent three days considering one critical question: Is organic cotton an answer to the low productivity and yields seen in Africa — or will it worsen the crisis?
As ICAC Chief Scientist and Recorder Editor Dr Keshav Kranthi says in his opening editorial, the answer might very well be the former. One of the biggest reasons organic production might be the solution is the high cost of synthetic fertiliser in Africa, where prices can be more than 12 times higher than they are in India. For this reason, among others, researchers are now increasingly voicing their preference for regenerative agricultural practices over chemical-intensive methods to improve soil fertility and soil health.
The XV Meeting of the SEACF was held from 29 June to 1 July 2022 in Montebelo Indy Maputo Congress Hotel, Maputo Province, Mozambique. The meeting was jointly conducted by the ICAC and the Mozambique Institute for Cotton and Oilseed (IAOM). The theme of the meeting was ‘Prospects for Organic Cotton in Africa’. There were 95 delegates from 12 countries — Colombia, Germany, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe — at the meeting.
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About the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries. It acts as a catalyst for change by helping member countries maintain a healthy world cotton economy; provides transparency to the world cotton market by serving as a clearinghouse for technical information on cotton production; and serves as a forum for discussing cotton issues of international significance. In addition, members can take advantage of the ICAC’s global network of cotton researchers, whose expertise covers the supply chain from farm to textile manufacturing, and have free access to its cutting-edge technologies like the voice-based app and virtual technology cotton training programme. Committed to ensuring cotton’s continued sustainability, the ICAC is the only intergovernmental commodity body covering cotton that is recognised by the United Nations. For more information, please visit www.icac.org, Twitter or LinkedIn.