Project partners
Action for Social Advancement (ASA), Madhya Pradesh
ASA was founded in 1996 by a group of development professionals with considerable collective experience of working with the tribal people in the Central part of India in participatory natural resources development. ASA has emerged as a lead organisation in the sector of farm-based livelihood for poor and natural resource management. ASA currently host the Organic & Fair Cotton Secretariat (OFCS) of Madhya Pradesh trying to improve exchange among organic cotton stakeholders.
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), Andhra Pradesh
CSA is an independent agriculture institution working to establish sustainable models of production through a community managed learning, management and marketing system. CSA strive for a policy change which promote sustainable models of production and bring restrictions on ecologically and economically unsustainable practices and policies. CSA has established 14 Cooperatives including an aggregator FPO in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with combined membership of 1500 farmers
Chetna Organic, Odisha
Chetna Organic is working with small and marginal farmers towards improving their livelihood options and making farming a sustainable and profitable occupation. Chetna Organic not only promotes organic farming, but also builds a supply chain which is owned by farmers. Chetna Organic now represents more than 10’000 farmers out of which 6’550 are producing certified organic cotton and the rest are in the transition phase. They work with farmers from the rainfed regions of Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh covering around 43,500 acres. They are involved in cotton cultivar evaluation since 2010 and since 2013 in participatory cotton breeding under the guidance of FiBL.
CottonConnect, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
CottonConnect is a pioneering company with a social purpose, delivering business benefits to retailers and brands by creating more sustainable cotton supply chain. They work with 50’000 organic cotton farmers and 23’000 farmers in conversion to organic. They conduct farmer training in seed selection.
Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola University (PDKV), Maharashtra
PDKV is a premier Agricultural University in Maharashtra, India, with a mandate to develop cotton cultivars including desi cotton G. arboreum for rainfed conditions as cotton is a major cash crop in this region. They are also involved in basic research including interspecific crosses and the use of wild relatives of cotton. And participate in the All India Coordinated Cotton Improvement Project (AICCIP). Akola has also an organic unit and organic experimental fields and runs a 6 months training of MSc students on organic agriculture.
Pratibha Syntex Ltd., Madhya Pradesh
Pratibha Syntex Ltd. is a vertically integrated, sustainability-oriented textile manufacturer. Under its project Vasudha, Pratibha engages in contract farming with 16’500 organic farmers. They have been in involved in seed projects since 2010 partly in collaboration with CottonConnect in organic cotton. Presently they testing over 100 cotton cultivars and have hired a dedicated breeder.
Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Gwalior University, Madhya Pradesh
The university is involved in crop improvement and characterisation of accessions of almost all food crops with focus on short duration crops. They are engaged in maintenance breeding and had a former cotton breeding program, resulting in the varietal lines of American and Desi cotton. At Khandwa College, they are multiplying these non-GM cotton seed and started crossing program. Presently they testing the 9 most promising cotton cultivars of bioRe Ltd. under organic growing conditions for the authorisation of truthfully labelled seed.
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