Cotton Program: 3.5 M ha now under sustainable land use

In 2016 IDH and BCI started the Growth & Innovation Fund (GIF). In 1 year the GIF invested €9 M in farmer programs of which €4.7 M private funding. This enabled participation of over 600,000 farmers across China, India, Pakistan, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal in BCI reaching a total 1,5 M famers applying sustainable practices on 3,5 M ha.

This year a staggering 2,5 M MT of sustainable cotton lint is produced, which accounts for 12% of global market demand. Our 2020 goal is to reach 6M Mt, which translates into 30% global market share. With more and more brands and retailers joining we are confident we will reach or overshoot our 2020 targets. Initial impact research from 2013 showed that farmers that comply to BC experience on average 36% higher yields and reduce water and pesticide use by respectively 20 and 67%. With cotton being the most water and pesticide intensive crop globally, these are significant impact results.

The BCI GIF portfolio will help transitioning BCI from impact on hundreds of thousands of farmers to millions, increasing their yields providing for better livelihoods and impacting water and agro-chemical use.