Minutes and Presentation

MINUTES
51st Meeting of the Expert Panel on Social, Environmental and Economic Performance of Cotton Production – SEEP
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Brisbane – Australia

Members:

Mr. Allan Williams, CRDC (Chair)

Mr. Bruno Bachelier, CIRAD (Vice-Chair)

Mr. Kater Hake, USA

Ms. Elke Hortmeyer, EU

Mr. Jean Paul Guinko, Burkina Faso

Mr. Alan McClay, EU

Mr. Ta Dolphin Yu, Taiwan

Observers:

Ms. Francesca Mancini, Delta Project Consultant

Mr. Wolfgang Bertenbreiter, GIZ

Ms. Belinda Edmonds, African Cotton Foundation-AFC

Mr. Jean Paul Gourlot, CIRAD

Mr. Steven Chen, Taiwan

Mr. João Luis Pessa, ABRAPA

Mr. Patrick Packnett, USDA

Ms. Susan Maas, CRDC

Mr. Peter Wakefield, WIS

Mr. Neal Gillen, Representative of the ICAC Secretariat

Mr. Michel Fok, CIRAD

Mr. Damien Sanfilippo, BCI (by Teleconference)

Secretariat:

Mr. Kai Hughes, ICAC Executive Director

Mr. Keshav Kranthi, Head of TIS

Ms. Lihan Wei, Statistician

Ms. Lorena Ruiz, Economist

1. Adoption of the Agenda

Allan Williams, Chair of the SEEP panel opened the meeting by welcoming the delegates and observers present and asked all attendees to present themselves. Mr. Williams noted that the focus of the meeting was to review and endorse the field testing of a set of impact indicators developed by the Delta Project (Annex 1 – Delta Project brief).

2. The DELTA Project Overview

Delta Project Presentation

Delta Project Presentation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4l15-1AKfE

Dr. Francesca Mancini, sustainability consultant to the Delta Project, started her presentation by noting that the Delta Project is a cross-commodity project, including cotton and coffee, aiming to align sustainability measurement and reporting at farm level. The project is a collaboration between the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), the Global Coffee Platform (GCP), the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and the International Coffee Association (ICO). The three-year project (2019-2021) is funded by the ISEAL Innovation Fund.

The value proposition of the project is to foster a common understanding of what is sustainability in the cotton and coffee sectors, measuring sustainability through a common set of environmental, social, and economic indicators, and providing feedback of the analysis of the data to farmers to ensure better decision making, improved services and access to finance.

The project has three components:

  • Develop a sustainability framework: impact indicators, guiding principles and data standardization.
  • Link sustainability performance to business actors and governments: method and guidance.
  • Add value to producers: pilot test in two countries with farmers and extension officers. (South Africa for cotton and Vietnam for coffee).

Dr. Mancini noted that the development of a common set of cross-commodity output and outcome indicators should consider the following components: it has to be at the farm-level, it needs to show the impact/outcome/output on sustainability, the number of indicators should be manageable (limited to 10-15), and they need to be relevant in terms of measuring the sustainability progress and adaptable to other sectors. It also requires the development of guidelines that support claims from the sustainability information generated through the common set of indicators and how to communicate sustainability information to customers and end-consumers.

The project is using four different sources to identify the final set of indicators:

  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators
  • ISEAL Common core indicators
  • ICAC/SEEP/FAO indicators for cotton as published in 2015
  • Global Coffee Data Standard developed by the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) for coffee

Dr. Mancini mentioned that the pilot (field) testing of the indicators in the first two countries will be led by BCI and the GCP respectively in 2020. After the field testing, the indicators will be refined.

Consultation with various cotton standards and retailers (CmiA, Fairtrade, Textile Exchange, Cotton Connect, OCA, C&A Foundation, my BMP, Cotton Australia, Cotton 2040), UN Agencies (FAO, ILO, WHO), and public and research organizations members of SEEP among other stakeholders, has taken place or is planned.

Fifteen major sustainability impact areas for cotton and coffee have been defined, as well as 38 sub-areas. Dr. Mancini pointed out that the mapping helped the cotton 20401 initiative to define common broad sustainability goals for the cotton sector.

3. Refining and finalization the draft Core Set of Indicators

The Chair solicited the panel’s feedback after the presentation of each proposed indicator to keep the discussion ongoing within the timeframe of the meeting. Dr. Mancini provided a printed copy to all participants and proceeded to read them one by one.

1. Indicator #1. Use of highly hazardous pesticides-HHPs: The unit for this indicator is kilograms of active ingredient of each highly hazardous pesticide per hectare.

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: mentioned that all the cotton sustainability standards fully support this indicator. The next step would be developing a list of HHPs not recommended for use on cotton. She also noted that the FAO and the WHO have published the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management and eight defined criteria and guidelines on HHPs.

– Kater Hake: asked if a national authority of a country could have the ability to remove a product from the HHPs list. He provided the example of glyphosate which has strong support in the U.S but does not in some other countries. Dr. Mancini answered that as of today, glyphosate is not GHS 1A/1B as per the criteria defined by the FAO/WHO, but there are indications that it might be in the future because of the issue around carcinogenicity. She also noted that FAO has not developed a global list of HHPs. Nevertheless, other international organizations such as the Pesticide Action Network-PAN and CropLife have developed their HHPs list.

– Allan Williams: noted that at this stage of the project, reporting on HHPs doesn’t mean setting a target of zero use and it is part of a different discussion.

– Francesca Mancini: proposed to create an open list of HHPs products for cotton based on FAO/WHO criteria.

– Joao Luis Pessa: noted that in order to reduce the adverse effects of pesticide use in cotton farming, farmers should have access to safer alternatives. Singling out or banning one product won’t solve the problem for the cotton farmer.

It was agreed that a working group to revise, define and propose a list of HHPs based on FAO/WHO criteria for this indicator will be formed. It is also important to provide guidance on the methodology to collect information on pesticide active ingredient. The members of the working group are:

  • Francesca Mancini, Sustainability consultant
  • Susan Maas, CRDC
  • Marcelo Paytas, INTA
  • Keshav Kranthi/Lorena Ruiz, ICAC
  • Alexandre Pedro Schenkel, AMPA
  • Jean-Pierre Guinko, Burkina Faso
  • Damien Sanfilippo, BCI

2. Indicator #2. Pesticide risk‐based indicator

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: noted that currently there are two risk assessment indicators in use by the Delta Project partners – the Environmental Toxic Load and the Toxic Load Indicator. Pesticide use by type remains the default indicator until a decision on the risk‐based indicator is reached.

– Allan Williams: commented that traditionally pesticide use has been reported on by providing the amount of kg of the active ingredient used, but it doesn’t give any information on the impact of that use. He noted that the challenge faced by the panel is that the closer you want to get to assessing the actual risk, the more difficult the data collection becomes. Designing a good indicator could be possible in theory but in practice, it could be unworkable, as it would require so many data points that getting the data to actually populate the indicator won’t be feasible.

– Damien Sanfilippo: mentioned that BCI can provide further documentation and clarification on the use of the Toxic Load Indicator (TLI). This indicator was developed in conjunction with CmiA, and it fits best with the purpose and context of both organizations. He noted the TLI is very simple to use. It is an open source system as it only relies on parameters that are universally available. The maintenance of the system is also very easy and fully transparent.

– Kater Hake: pointed out that risk issues are really important one to include because that gives you impact. Risk is equal to toxicity times exposure. Farmers have put some practices in place to minimize their exposure and reduce the risk. If a risk indicator is going to be added the panel should consider that the risk is to humans and not another target species.

– Keshav Kranthi: stated that in the U.S, there are more than 20,000 cases that have been registered in courts against the use of glyphosate. Currently, in at least three cases, the juries have found  Roundup (glyphosate-based weed killer) to be carcinogenic. Dr. Kranthi noted that despite the U.S doesn’t consider glyphosate a risk to public health when used in accordance with its current label, all these cases have been filed within the country and not in countries like India, Pakistan or African Countries. He also said that the problem is not how farmers use or handle HHP, but the danger of the products per se.

The panel agreed that the concept of a composite risk indicator is important. The actual focus of the indicator – humans and/or bees – needs further discussion and considerations. The working group on HHPs will discuss and revise the best option for this indicator as well.

3. Indicator #3. Water use or water use efficiency

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: noted that considering the challenges in calculating water use in small holdings, there is a need to make a final decision on the most suitable water indicator for farms that do not keep regular water use records. There are currently three indicators available – Water efficiency for irrigated farms (%), quantity of water used for irrigation (m3/ha), and water crop productivity (WCP) for irrigated farms (m3/kg lint). Dr. Mancini pointed out that water indicators are highly context-dependent as they are not very meaningful unless more information about how and where the water is being applied is provided.

– Allan Williams: mentioned that both quantity and water crop productivity have been widely supported by the Cotton 2040 initiative.

– Keshav Kranthi: asked if water crop productivity includes blue water, grey water and green water. Mr. Williams answered that water efficiency is determine by the amount of water that reaches the plant once it is extracted from underground, dam or river. While water productivity is how much cotton is produced per unit of water delivered to the plant. Dr. Kranthi pointed out that it is always better to focus on irrigation water because that is where farmers can have a handle. Adding rainfed water to the analysis may confuse people and it could lead to a misinterpretation of the data collected. Mr. Williams replied by saying that the panel should consider the opportunity for looking at water productivity in a rainfed system as well.

– Kater Hake: mentioned that the metrics for intercrop water productivity is the water used by the crop versus productivity of the crop. Dr. Hake said this is a very important metric because allow farmers to get maximum yield value from the limited water they have available.

The panel agreed that water management in rainfed systems needs further discussion and it cannot reach an agreement on this matter at this point. The current indicators that are part of the discussion are:

  • Total water use
  • Water use efficiency
  • Crop productivity for irrigated farms
  • And one indicator on water stewardship

4. Indicator #5. Topsoil carbon content and moisture content

Comments from Participants

– Allan Williams: asked for a clarification for these two terms. Dr. Mancini replied by saying that the terminology was proposed by the coffee organization.

The panel agreed that topsoil carbon content should be measured every year using a visual assessment and every 5/6 years in the laboratory, and that the adoption of good soil management practices should be monitored regularly. The panel recommended that the guidelines for data collection from the Global Soil Partnership be used as a reference.

5. Indicator #6. Fertiliser use or fertiliser use efficiency

Comments from Participants

– Kater Hake: mentioned that since we have two metrics – the productivity or yield of seed cotton and fertiliser use, it is extremely easy to put those metrics together by calculating nutrient extraction versus supply.

– Keshav Kranthi: supported the idea and noted that it is better to focus on fertilizer use efficiency rather than application.

The panel agreed that fertilizer use will be included as indicator, and that this indicator will be replaced in future by fertilizer use efficiency.

6. Indicator #7. Forest converted for cotton production

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: mentioned that based on the consultation with all the stakeholders, forest, wetland and grassland conversation should be included. However, there is a need to define the cut-off date. Is it going to be retrospective or not?

– Allan Williams: commented that it is important to understand how other organizations deal with this issue in order to provide recommendations to the project.

– Lorena Ruiz: asked what the methods of data collection were. Mr. Sanfilippo replied that BCI works with the producers that are participating with the program and conducts a survey where the farmer has to inform if there is planning to do any land conversion and if they do then there is a process implemented to monitor it.

The Panel recommended not to set a cut-off day but looks forward to mitigate any possible risk where High Conservation Value Areas (HCVA) are converted for the purpose of growing cotton. Francesca Mancini will distribute further information to the panel on this matter.

7. Indicator #8. Green House Gas emission: kg CO2e / kg cotton lint

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: initiated the discussion on a common methodology to assess emissions. She pointed out for the need to develop appropriate guidance to annex to the Delta framework. Common protocol for sources of emissions, system boundary, and emission factors have to be discussed by the panel.

– Keshav Kranthi: asked if the idea was to measure the carbon footprint or the carbon emissions. If it is about addressing the issue of carbon emission, then it is essentially a matter of balance of input and output. Allan Williams replied that in Australia the initial mission was to measure emissions but then it was decided to included sequestration as well. However, it hasn’t been decided what would be the best methodology to measure it. Keshav Kranthi asked if there were any study that provides

the net emission of CO2 by cotton. Mr. Hake responded that the global life cycle assessment of cotton shows that up until the bale, cotton is a net absorber of CO2.

The panel agreed that the indicator will focus on measuring emissions in the cotton production process until ginning, i.e. to the bale of lint. It was also agreed that a working group will be formed to gather information on the CO2eq calculation tools currently in use in the countries or standards.

8. Indicator, #9, #10, #11 and #12: Average yields, net income, living income, price at farmgate.

Comments from Participants

– Keshav Kranthi/Lorena Ruiz: noted that there is a difference between cost of cultivation and cost of production. The first one goes until the seed cotton and it reflects the cost per hectare. The cost of production refers to the lint and includes the cost of ginning, land rent and taxes. The gross income refers to the income of a farmer including lint and seed, and net returns is equal to gross income minus the cost of cultivation.

The panel agreed that the cost of cultivation (up to the seed cotton) should be collected in local currencies. The unit where cost of cultivation would be reported would be U.S dollars so comparisons can be made. The frequency for reporting on economic indicators could be every three years, following the recommendations from the SDGs. ICAC will share their methodology for data collection on cost of production.

9. Indicator #13. Child labour: Incidence of the worst forms of child labour and forced labour

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: mentioned that there is a shared concern on how monitoring and reporting child labour is done.

– Kai Hughes: noted that any child labor in a cotton system should be considered not sustainable at all.

– Alan McClay: indicated that BCI classifies the cases into two categories – systemic and incidental. For social indicators there should be an agreement between principles and standards. A probable way to move forward is to measure what it is seen in the field.

– All Participants: members noted that there should be a more active role from countries that allows the discussion and set targets to curve the use of HHPs, child and force labour, and guarantee minimum wages in cotton producing countries.

The panel agreed that definitions and guidance from the International Labour Organization (ILO) should be used to address the issue of child and forced labour.

10. Indicator #15. Gender: Women in managerial/leadership roles and other relevant decision-making influence

Comments from Participants

– Francesca Mancini: noted that there is a need to further define the indicator and proposal to adopt and modify the gender index developed by IFPRI which has 15 gender dimensions, 6 out of which are very relevant to cotton production.

– Alan McClay: commented that BCI undertook research on gender dynamics in cotton production and the organization is putting together a plan to roll out a global gender strategy for cotton production.

Definition of units across the indicators

  • Harvested land
  • Lint Yield
  • Cost of cultivation per hectare and cost of production per kilogram of seed-cotton
  • Local currencies vs USD
  • Harvest year
4. Draft report statement to report to plenary meeting

A statement on SEEP’s recommendations to endorse the indicator set for testing in 2020 will be drafted by Allan Williams and Francesca Mancini and sent out to members for revision and approval.

5. Cotton 2040

The chairman noted that the Cotton2040 initiative asked that the SEEP panel should consider their comments on the set of indicators. In order to do provide a proper answer, he suggested that Francesca Mancini provides a document that summarizes and incorporates all the observations given by the panel. This document will be distributed among members along with the minutes from the meeting. The chair will formally reply to the cotton 2040 initiative and acknowledge their work.

6. Other matters

The Chair thanked delegates and observers for their presence and declared the meeting closed.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Khalid Mahmood is the Co-Founder of SAWiE, where he has been instrumental in developing digital farm advisory and farm data platforms supporting over 10,000 farmers in Pakistan, improving traceability and transparency across agricultural supply chains. He is leading the development of first-mile traceability systems and the TRUE Cotton platform, connecting farmers with sustainable global textile supply chains.

He also serves as Head of Partnerships at the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS), where he leads strategic collaborations to position soil health as a critical climate mitigation solution, linking soil management with carbon sequestration, water quality, air quality, and biodiversity restoration.

Trained as an Agricultural Economist (PhD, University of Göttingen, Germany), Dr. Mahmood combines strong scientific expertise with practical innovation to address global challenges in food security, ESG reporting, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture.

His past work includes leadership in research programs on carbon reduction in rice and livestock systems, and collaboration with leading institutions such as Rothamsted Research, AHDB UK, and the Thünen Institute (Germany).

Dr. Mahmood is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) and has contributed to international research and knowledge networks including IFCN and UPSIGN.

Recognized among the Net Zero 50 Leaders, he continues to advance international partnerships that place soil at the centre of regenerative agriculture, natural capital development, and ecosystem restoration.

 

Dr Olivier Zieschank studied Management at the university of Lausanne, where he graduated in 2005. Until 2010, he worked in a Swiss-based start-up that specialized in negotiating cell tower lease agreements, where he became associate director. In 2010, he returned to university and studied applied economics in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He wrote his PhD in Economics at the University of Freiberg, Germany, where he developed a theory of organization. Mr Zieschank was appointed Economist at the ITMF in August 2017 and became director in January 2021.

Ashwin Chandran holds a Bachelors Degree in Textile Technology from UMIST, UK and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, USA.

He is currently the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and it’s subsidiary - Cotton Development and Research Association – CITI CDRA. CITI-CDRA works with Indian cotton farmers and collaborates with government bodies and research institutions to improve cotton productivity, promote farmer welfare and expand the knowledge of Indian cotton farmers on the subjects of sustainability, traceability and meeting compliance and certification requirements.

He is the Chairman & Managing Director of Precot Limited, a manufacturer of yarns, threads and cotton based non-woven hygiene products.

He is the Chairman of the Indian Textile Sector Skill Council, a member of the Council of Administration of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) and is a past Chairman of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA).

Mr. Shreyans Gupta is an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), currently serving as First Secretary at the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. In his current role, he oversees critical portfolios within the Income-tax Overseas Unit (ITOU) and the Commerce Wing, facilitating bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Throughout his career, Mr. Gupta has held diverse positions involving both the implementation and policy-making aspects of Indian taxation. His expertise spans complex tax audits, financial and criminal investigations, International Taxation and administration of core IT platforms/infrastructure. He has also served as a delegate of India to various international tax organizations, contributing to high-level discourse on global tax cooperation frameworks

Eric Trachtenberg is the Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).

Before coming to ICAC, he oversaw more than $700 million in programs to improve food security, support agricultural transformation, and strengthen land productivity at the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

His earlier background includes service with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in the Russian Federation, China, and Taiwan where he resolved agricultural market access issues totaling more than $1.3 billion, designed and led investment facilitation initiatives that generated more than $10 billion in new activity, and oversaw export development programs worth $10 million.

He has a Masters in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University, a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and Bachelors degrees in Government and Economics from Cornell University.

Pia Terasa joined the textile machinery manufacturer Saurer over 25 years ago. She is responsible for marketing and communications at the group level. Coming originally from a non-textile background, market intelligence and business development have played major roles throughout her career. Her current main “hobby” is closely monitoring development of the textile recycling industry and circular economy.

Dr. Md. Fakhre Alam Ibne Tabib is the former Executive Director of the Cotton Development Board of Bangladesh, with over 32 years of experience in cotton production, research, and development. He has demonstrated strong leadership and communication skills in engaging with national and international stakeholders in the cotton sector.

His expertise spans Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Crop Management (ICM), and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) with a focus on sustainable, regenerative, and organic cotton production. His research interests include high-density planting systems, planting geometry, intercropping, and innovative cropping patterns. Dr. Tabib is also proficient in ICT applications, project planning and monitoring, and scientific report writing.

Dr. Tabib has played a significant leadership role within the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), serving as Vice-Chair (2023–2024) and Chair (2024–2025) of its Standing Committee. The ICAC is an association of governments of cotton-producing, consuming, and trading countries, recognized by the United Nations as the international commodity body for cotton and related products.

In addition, he serves as Vice President of the Ecological Society of Bangladesh and contributes actively to the executive bodies of other social and scientific organizations. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Cotton Cropping Systems in 2013.

Dr. Tabib has participated in numerous international programs, conferences, and study visits related to cotton across countries including the USA, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, India, Egypt, the Philippines, South Korea, and Malaysia. He has published 12 scientific papers and several articles on cotton in reputed national and international journals and magazines. He is also an active member of multiple professional associations and networks worldwide.

Dr. Elsie Sia Kanza is the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United States of America and Mexico. Prior to that role, Ambassador Kanza served as Special Advisor to the President of the World Economic Forum, and, before that, Head of Africa and Member of Executive Committee for 10 years championing growth and development in Africa leveraging public private collaboration. In 2015, She was awarded a Doctorate in Business Administration (honoris causa) by the University of Strathclyde for the transformative impact achieved in Africa.

Ambassador Kanza also served in the government for a decade and a half as economic advisor to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as well as in various capacities with the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Tanzania.

In 2008, Ambassador Kanza became an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow, and in 2011 a WEF Young Global Leader. She was also nominated as a Richard von Weizsacker Fellow and highlighted as one of Africa’s 50 most powerful women by Forbes in 2020. Additionally, she has served on various boards, including those of the African Leadership Institute - South Africa, Mercy Corps Europe, The Nature Conservancy Africa Council, and the Uongozi Institute.

Ambassador Kanza obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the United States International University – Africa in Business Administration and later graduated with a Master's degree in finance from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom and an MA in Development Economics, Center for Development Economics, Williams College, USA.

Alison Ward has over 30 years of international experience in sustainability and corporate affairs. Alison is the CEO of CottonConnect, where she leads a team of over 100 employees, impacting the lives of over 800,000 cotton farmers in India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Bangladesh.  Under Alison’s leadership the organization: drives supply chain transparency connecting sustainable fibres from farm to store; focuses on the rights and skills of women in supply chains through pioneering gender programmes; and continues to develop innovations at a farm level. She leads cotton strategies and programmes for global brands and retailers.

Previously Alison worked with Mondelez International and Kraft Foods and was the Global Head of Corporate Responsibility at Cadbury.

With a mission to drive scalable change, Alison served as a Member of the Sustainable Cotton Steering Committee for Textile Exchange.  She sat on the Sustainability Advisory Committee for the London Olympic Games and has been a Coach and Mentor to commercial teams at WWF and the Ethical Trade Initiative. Alison is also a Life fellow of the RSA- Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Alison has completed the Senior Executive Programme at Ashridge Business School and the Business & Sustainability Programme at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. She holds a BA Hons in English from the University of Birmingham.

 

 

With more than 43 years of experience in textiles and fibre processing, Marinus has extensive commercial knowledge of all facets of the cotton production pipeline from field to fabric, specialising in yarn manufacturing and quality. Amongst others, he is a certified quality expert and is the current chair of ICAC’s Task Force for the Commercial Standardisation of Instrument Testing of Cotton. He is also an executive member of the Australian Cotton Ginners Association and the ITMF International Committee on Cotton Testing Methods. Marinus is also a member of the ITMF Spinners Committee and the Cotton Classing Association of Australia, and is the Australian fibre quality technical expert.
He has authored many articles and technical reports and has been invited to present at numerous domestic and international conferences. He has managed to secure a large and diverse number of projects, service agreements, and commission cotton textile processing work. He has won many awards, including the prestigious Australian Cotton Researcher of the Year Award.

Navdeep Singh Sodhi began his career at India’s largest cotton-textile company and has 35+ years of international experience in mill operations and management consulting. His expertise includes strategic policy, technology and international trade and investment. With experience in over 50 countries, he advises an international clientele and has conducted multiple international studies on the cotton-textile value chain. These include the global benchmarking study to evaluate the competitiveness of India’s textile industry for the Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL). He contributed to the formulation of the perspective plan for the Indian textile engineering industry (TEI). Mr Sodhi has been supporting the campaign for transformation of cotton in C-4 Countries + Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa and led the flagship study in West Africa commissioned by IFC (World Bank Group) that was recently presented at the World Cotton Day 2023 commemorated under the auspices of UNIDO in Vienna. Mr Sodhi is a partner with Gherzi Textil Organisation, Switzerland, and a Chartered Fellow (C.Text FTI) of the Textile Institute in Manchester, England.

Experienced professional with over 42 years of expertise in textile plant management, business establishment, plant turnaround, managing turnkey projects and overseeing large textile operations across three continents. Successfully initiated new factories in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. Has been business head responsible for P&L of large textile operation in Canada and USA.

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Textile Technology from PSG College of Technology, India.

Key areas of expertise include:

  • Turnkey project management
  • Turnaround of large textile plants in diverse geographical locations
  • Establishment and management of businesses in various regions
  • Strategic, financial, and marketing planning and execution for textile plants
  • Product development
  • Customer relationship management

Name: Mary Concilia Anchang
Company: Onambele Anchang & Associates
Country: Cameroon
Position: Managing Partner
Website: www.oaalawfirm.com

Executive Chair

The African Chamber of Trade and Commerce ACC

Email: oaalawpartners2@gmail.com, africanchambernetwork@gmail.com

Websites www.africanchamber-abo.org  www.ficota.org

Called to the Cameroon Bar in 1993, Barrister Mary Concilia Anchang epse Onambele, is the managing partner at Onambele Anchang & Associates (OAALAW). She demonstrates consistency and dedication in 32 years of National and international legal work and advocacy. Renown for her legal prowess, her ability to delve into unconventional and controversial topics, has earned her access to several platforms at all levels, in the society. In her persuasive urge to address stubborn societal problems in the continent, she has created several tools to express her opinion and drive policy in a wide range of business sectors. She addresses legal, social and economic problems, with the perspective to contribute in crafting novel schemes, policies and practices to oblige relevance and impact for the welfare and livelihood of communities.

Her law practice, a full-service corporate law firm, serves a broad range of businesses in various industry sectors. Client satisfaction is pivotal at OAALA. Her firm is one of the most sought-after contemporary lawyers in the continent of Africa. Passionate, engaging and focus driven, her peers revere her resolve to address challenging matters in a friendly and dialogue mode. Her brilliance, and keen eye for detail earns great recognition from her clients.

She is the pioneer African IP lawyer, accredited with the African organization of Intellectual & Industrial property (OAPI) with jurisdiction in 17 countries since 1994.

In 1998, curious and concerned about Africa`s significant dependence on foreign intellectual property assets and imports of goods and services into the continent, she founded; “The Foundation for the Promotion of Inventions, Innovations, and Artistic Designs” (FPI) to promote research and development for African discoveries, talents, traditional Knowledge and know-how for validation of discoveries for local use and exports to global markets.

Retained in 1998, to advise the Cameroon Association of Inventors and Innovators, she represented a medicinal cure for hepatitis, known under the trademark ''HEPASOR,” at d the International Exhibition Fair (INPEX) in 1999 in Pittsburgh, where FPI met with Dr. Nakammatz, the renown Japanese inventor of Viagra.

Then followed, the BBC Tomorrow’s World London Exhibition Fair in 1999, where FPI received an award from Mr. John Trevors, the renowned British inventor of the “Touch lamp” for her exhibitions.

From 2001 -2006, she accompanied one of Africa`s most revolutionary, controversial and nonconventional research initiatives in HIV /AIDS for therapeutic vaccines. This discovery, led by one of Africa`s most renown Professors, a Surgeon and international award price winner for research in the treatment of retrovirus for Burkitt’s Cancer, Sickle cell and HIV /AIDS. At a time when HIV/AIDs was ravaging lives in the Continent of Africa, she played a very compelling advocacy role at all fronts, while advising on the patentability, design and trademark ownership of the Vaccine process across the globe.

As Cofounder of the Cameroon National Committee of the International Chamber of Trade & Commerce (ICC Cameroon) in 2021, she stunned the continent, in 2006, with her nomination by the World Business Council, of The International Chamber of Trade & Commerce (ICC) Paris, as the pioneer, African, female country, court member, at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, since its creation in 2023. A mandate she held 4 years..

From 2004 -2014, as a member of the ICC Paris Intellectual property (IP) and the Arbitration commissions, she contributed with experts from governments, Civil society, multinationals, intra governmental organizations, institutions and businesses, through successive annual COP Conferences, to address policy reviews on the global climate change Agenda, that lead to the signing of, the Paris convention in 2015 on climate change.

Coupled with her legal practice, she founded & Chairs “The African Chamber of Trade & Commerce” (ACC), a non-profit and non-governmental, private sector chamber, aimed at using Public, Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a strategic tool to build sustainable and resilient infrastructures. The aim is to avoid duplication and stagnation for gainful entrepreneurial business practices.

Focal on the ACC agenda, is her advocacy for Tripartite Partnerships, that would engage expertise in, North/South, South/South and North/North business ventures. This should invariably contribute towards impactful and traceable development in local African communities. Through this initiative, she pledges to bring her expertise and knowledge into a project, she is deeply passionate about, and believes could shift paradigms in the  continent.. That is; “Institutional Advocacy for 'Africa's Socio-Economic Development."

Convinced of the need to promote IP asset ownership in Africa for improved wealth for entrepreneurial self-reliant opportunities, she believes validating African inventions and innovations, would pave the way for IP ownership and knowledge transfer for capital markets.

She has since 2018 created “The International Forum for cotton, textiles, accessories & Fashion (FICOTA) to address the African Cotton value chain and supply chains, as pivotal for talents to create wealth and job opportunities in Africa.

In prelude to the 4th edition of FICOTA, coming up in November 2026, in Cairo, Egypt, she will be Speaking at the ICAC 83rd plenary conference coming up in Tanzania in November 2025, on the role of National policies for African textiles.

Transforming Cotton into Textile and things in Africa is a vision, FICOTA promotes for optimization and industrialization of African cotton and Textiles. The game changer for. (www.africanchamber-abo.org) FICOTA is created to facilitate sustainability and optimization in the African cotton value and supply chains from “Seed to Fashion” or from “Farm to Market” through value addition. (www.ficota.org ) The focus is on adapting ecosystems for Africa`s industrialization in the textiles industry.

The plurality, multi-culturalism and multidimensionality of ACC, provides a structure with the unique capacity for institutions and stakeholders to create adaptive business models, based on sector needs of partners. The purpose is to facilitate harmonious growth with efficient ecosystems, to implement attainable goals, through value addition, in local value and supply chains.

Accolades and Publications:

2016, OAALAW won the “AI African Award of Excellence.

2018, Recognized amongst 100 of the finest professional Women in a book titled “Women Pioneer In Dispute Resolutions” by Arbitral Women.

2019 Published an article on IP Funding: A Key to Entrepreneurial Development Through IP Asset Ownership in Africa in the London based “Women's IP Magazine

2020/21, Profiled in the Magazine “Rising Women”.

2023, Appointed Member of the International Cotton Advisory Committee/Private Sector Advisory Committee (PSAC)

2023, she was nominated as Executive member of the African Private Sector Summit. (APSS)

2024 she organized the 3rd Edition of the International Forum for Cotton, Textiles, Accessories & Fashion (FICOTA) in the sea site Ocean city, of Kribi, Cameroon.

2025, she published an article on “The Mystery, Power, Purpose and Ownership of Talent & Knowledge” in the London based “Women's IP Magazine”

She was nominated and ranked as the No. 6 in the Policy and Advocacy category for the Top 100 Influential Women Leaders in IP Law.

She is a current member of several association International Trademark Association (INTA), American Bar Association, Arbitral Women, Association of OAPI IP Agents, (AMOAPI), Foundation for the Promotion of Inventors ,Innovators  (FPI), Maman Eucharist du Mont Febe (MEMO) African Private Summit (APPSS), Africa US international Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AfUSA)  ACC and other

She enjoys travelling, music, sports, praying, and supporting charities.

 

Besim Özek

Strategy & Business Development Director

Following his graduation from Tarsus American College and Cukurova University Mechanical Engineering, he has taken a large and vital business role in Logistics and Purchasing Departments for over 20 years.

He is now Strategy and Business Development  Director in BOSSA which is one of the largest Denim Producers is Turkey. He has been very involved in Sustainable Textile Production.

He had been active presenting the company in;

  • Turkish Exporters Assembly, ITHIB (Member of Board)
  • Turkish Cotton Textile Manufacturer ‘s Union (Member of Board)
  • Turkish National Cotton Council (Member of Board)
  • The Union of Chambers and Commodity, Turkish Textile Industry Assembly

Twitter Besim Ozek:      @besimozek

Linkedin Besim Ozek:    besim-ozek

SIDDHARTHA RAJAGOPAL, Executive Director – TEXPROCIL

Dr. Siddhartha Rajagopal is the Executive Director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL). He holds a PhD in Management Studies and has nearly four decades of experience in international trade in textiles and clothing.

Over his career, he has worked across the entire textile value chain—from fibre to fashion—and has been part of several Government of India delegations and negotiating groups, including bilateral engagements with the USA, the European Union, and consultations at the WTO.

Dr. Rajagopal has played a key role in developing export promotion schemes, market development strategies, and organizing India’s participation in international textile exhibitions and trade delegations. He is currently involved in the implementation of the “Kasturi Cotton India” project in collaboration with the Cotton Corporation of India and the Ministry of Textiles.

Padmini Singla, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India

Padmini Singla is a career civil servant from India with over two decades of leadership roles in public administration. Currently serving as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles, she spearheads the strategic development and policy framework for Natural Fibres, including Cotton.

An alumna of Delhi School of Economics, she holds an Executive Master’s from EPFL, Switzerland.