Summary
In the 2019-20 cotton season, some 2.7 million farmers in 23 countries participated in the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) programme. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020, BCI’s nearly 70 Implementing Partners (IPs) remained dedicated to providing farmer support and training, rapidly adapting their practices to the evolving circumstances. In particular, they innovated to create digital materials and resources to deliver training remotely and took on critical new roles in distributing personal protective equipment, Covid-19 updates and safety advice to remote cotton farming communities. Thanks to their efforts, more than 2.4 million farmers received a BCI license, producing 6.2 million tonnes of Better Cotton – that is a 10% increase on the 2018-19 season and equates to approximately 23% of global cotton production.