Who we are. What we do.
Transcription
Who we are. What we do.
In this issue >>> Welcome to our first edition Engage Meet the Farm Engagement Team Who we are and what we do Regional roundup Dates for diaries Connecting organic cotton farming communities What we will bring you each month... Organic Exchange Monthly Farm Bulletin Welcome to the first edition of Engage! The ambition of this monthly bulletin is to bring organic cotton growers all over the world closer together to share ideas, challenges, views and successes. We hope you will enjoy receiving our bulletin and that each month it helps bring us closer together – as a community. Since this is our first publication we would like to take the time to introduce ourselves, our values and our ambitions. Starting next month we will be bringing you more news and views, special features and regional spotlights. To help us get off to the best possible start we are asking you to write in with your ideas and suggestions for what you want to see in this bulletin. So now is the time to tell us more about the things you want to hear about, and how we can use this newsletter to better connect with you. Please send your ideas into us (contact details are on the last page of this publication). Liesl Truscott Director, Farm Engagement Issue 1, July 2010 Who we are. What we do. The Farm Engagement Team Yes we have had a name change but most of the team you may already know. We will continue to work just as closely with organic cotton farmers in the regions we are based and through our partnerships in regions where we are not physically located. Our ambition as a team is to help build the best organic cotton business possible, and to make sure you – the farmers – get the best out of ‘going organic’. This means we want to see you enjoy long term success – to find economic rewards, environmental stability and for your success to bring benefits to your local communities and a bright future for your children. We will continue to bring our expertise to support the development of your organic farms, but we will be taking a particular interest in helping you participate in robust value chains. This means finding ways to improve understanding and relationships between you, as producers, and the many companies, retailers and brands you do business with. We think ‘organic’ is a sound and effective model for growing cotton, particularly on small-scale farms and we have enshrined this belief in our values statement. Our Values We believe cotton that is produced organically and with integrity should be the flagship of the cotton industry. We are committed to supporting fair and transparent value chains. We are committed to promoting the environmental, social and economic stability that organic farming delivers to farmers, communities and our planet. We are a small team with a big vision. We envision a sector with wellorganised farmer groups enjoying access to stable and rewarding value chains. We envision healthy lifestyles, healthy communities and a healthy environment. We see the future as Organic by choice. A word from our Senior Director >>> “Organic Cotton, a signature program of Organic Exchange, is a catalyst that allows many of the social, economic, and environmental issues associated with conventional cotton production to be addressed – environmental issues, climate change, bio‐diversity, water quality and utilization, food security, human rights and social issues, as well as poverty in agricultural communities. By facilitating the expansion of organic fiber agriculture, we, in association with our members and stakeholders, can continue to have a positive, significant, visible, and measurable impact on the world.” La Rhea Pepper Organic Cotton Farmer, Founding Partner and Senior Manager Organic Exchange Meet your Farm Engagement team Liesl Truscott (Farm Engagement Director) Prabha Nagaraja (Regional Director-India) Alfonso Lizarraga (Regional Director-Latin America) Liesl Truscott, Farm Engagement Director, Based in the UK - “I think the best way to create positive change is through understanding, empathy and communications. If there is more transparency and closer ties between members of the supply chain better, more innovative, ways of working can be discovered.” Prabha Nagarajan, Regional Director, India - “The vision for Organic cotton will be realized only with a combination of sincerity of purpose, bold leadership, insight, and a high level of integrity of all the members in the value chain. Those higher up have the power to reduce the poverty and vulnerability of the organic cotton farmer. It is my endeavour to act as an agent of change. There is much to be accomplished.” Alfonso Lizarraga, Regional Director, Latin America - “For me, supporting the development of organic cotton is a passion. I am a scientist by profession but it’s the practical application of this I enjoy the most. I see myself as a farm innovator, and I find great sense of purpose in shaping what I know technically and scientifically - to match the needs and situation of each farmer I work with.” Silvere Tovignan, Regional Director, Africa - “I am happy to be part of the organic community, because the best future of humanity cannot be achieved without the organic thinking. In this regard, training of all stakeholders is the key to reach such a future. I find education on organic farming to small scale farmers’ one important priority to pull them out of the poverty circle.” Silvere Tovignan (Regional Director-Africa) Doraliz Aranda (Business Development Manager) Doraliz Aranda, Business Development Manager. Based in the UK - “I´m a business professional, but my passion is to raise awareness and to help move people toward more sustainable practices in the textile industry. I want to match farmers’ needs with brands’ and to bring them together to improve their work. That would be my reward.” Jose Santisteban, our new Research Manager, is based in Peru. Jose helps the team find better ways to manage information, translates our reports into Spanish, and supports the team’s research needs. Integrity Stakeholder Meeting Concerns about the integrity of organic cotton have been growing steadily. In late 2008, leading stakeholders ICCO, Solidaridad and Organic Exchange responded to these concerns by forming a Consortium to review the issues and agree recommendations for improvement. IFoam has recently joined the Consortium. As part of the work, a study was commissioned, and India was chosen as the area for the study given her leading role in organic cotton production and processing, and because of the integrity issues that were raised in India in the recent past. Findings of the study were shared with key stakeholders at Biofach January 2010. As part of the follow up action plan a meeting was held on the 3rd of May 2010 at Indore, India titled “Integrity in the Indian organic cotton value chain: a summary of issues and gaps for potential action”. The goal of the meeting was to share the findings of the Report and involve the stakeholders in identifying critical issues, brainstorming and for them to come up with solutions both short term and long term. Marieke Weerdesteijn of Solidaridad, Ajay Rastogi an independent consultant, Heidi McCloskey and Prabha Nagarajan of Organic Exchange steered the day long sessions. The participants included third party certification bodies, both organic and fair trade, farm groups, representatives of mills and gins. The sessions were noteworthy for the openness and transparent nature of the dialogues and the genuine desire to make systems improvements that would contribute to the integrity of organic cotton. Three stakeholder groups; the farm group, mills and gins and certification bodies identified issues which ranged from the crisis of non GMO seed supply for organic production, lack of a Code of Practice, price issues, certification issues including contamination detection, buffer zones, number of inspections, costs of certification, assured and timely orders from brands, government support, and emerging issues such as the new web based traceability being introduced by APEDA (the regulatory body of the government of India). The proposed action plans which are now being set in motion include the formation of a producer body, formation of a forum of the Certification bodies, a group to address seed issues, dissemination of information on GM contamination and detection, and mobilising the support of the Government of India on critical issues of supply chain traceability and ownership of integrity. The initiatives in India are expected to be highly valuable for all stakeholders with an interest in the Indian value chain as well as being important learnings that would have application in all the areas of organic cotton production worldwide. Regional focus >>> India Celebrating a decade of organic standards May 15th saw APEDA, (Agricultural Produce Export Division Authority) the regulatory and promotional body of the Ministry of Commerce celebrate 10 years of NPOP, the National Promotion of Organic Produce Standards. The event was a day long affair, with seminars, a Buyer-Seller Meet, and related events, held at the Taj Palace, one of New Delhi’s finest hotels. The highlight of the evening events was a fashion show of Organic Textiles which was organised by Organic Exchange for APEDA. Three groups, Pratibha Syntex, Chetna Organic and Appachi Cotton showcased their clothing in a 45 minute show, with 12 Female and 6 male models, in 9 sequences. The groups contributed about 4300 USD and the show was directed by a leading choreographer of Delhi, Anup Banerjea. APEDA organised the press coverage, invitations and cocktails to this stylish event. India’s capability of producing a range of high-quality cotton on her organic cotton farms and the design capabilities of our mills and hand spinners was displayed with flair and panache. The range of garments included trousers, shirts, knitwear and stunning saris, all in fine organic! Stakeholders meeting, Indore Regional focus >>> Latin America Prospects for organic cotton growing in Columbia Colombia is a country with a long history of cotton production and is an important textile industry. In April, an exploratory trip was made in order to evaluate the potential for producing organic cotton and boosting an alternative textile industry. As has happened in many countries in the region, there is a reduction in area under cotton and approximately 80% is transgenic (genetically modified). However, there is a good supply of biological inputs making organic appear a feasible option. Conalgodon is the organization representing cotton farmers in Columbia. Conalgodon has the capabilities to support a pilot of organic cotton. Some companies are already producing organic cotton products, for example Fatelares, which is imported exclusively for La Siesta hammocks in Germany. The role of the textile union (ANDI) will also be important in determining the future of implementing an organic initiative. Alfonso Lizárraga (Organic Exchange), Mario Rodríguez y Luz Amparo Fonseca (CONALGODON) y Alexander Grisar (La Siesta) Members of the Agroecology Consortium Progress for agro-ecology in Peru The Agro-ecology Consortium arises from the Peruvian agro-ecological movement, which has been developing over the past 12 years. Agroecology means using a whole-systems approach to agriculture and food systems development based on traditional knowledge, alternative agriculture, and local food system experiences. Peru has a bill to promote organic production and is in the process of regulating. The Consortium has proposed agro-ecological advocacy actions for the next two years; in order to have a regulation that meets the specification and the needs of organic agriculture in Peru. This plan is being developed with the participation of various members of the Consortium: the National Association of Ecological Producers (ANPE), the Peruvian Association of Consumers (ASPEC), Rural Coordinator, the Ecological Group, the NGO IDMA; national networks as well, Action Network and Alternative Agriculture (RAAA), Organic Agriculture Network (RAE) and the Agrarian National University - La Molina (UNALM) and the participation of various organizations such as Organic Exchange, supported by ICCO and CERTUM. Event Highlight >>> On 11th June Alfonso Lizárraga, Regional Director of Organic Exchange, gave a lecture on organic cotton to students of organic agriculture at the National Agrarian University - La Molina (UNALM). The course is run by professor Dr. Roberto Ugás. Students showed much interest and discussion afterwards ranged from the certification process to the management of organic farms, to textile processing. Alfonso enjoys the opportunity to bring organic cotton alive to students in the class room as well as supporting farmers in field. La fédération des producteurs biologiques de Koussanar: Une entreprise paysanne en plein devenir Point régional >>> Afrique Le projet de production biologique de Koussanar (Est du Sénégal) a été un des pionniers, en la matière, en Afrique de l’Ouest. ENDA PRONAT (une ONG) et PAN UK ont soutenu la mise en place d’un système de contrôle interne qui a permis l’obtention de la certification biologique. Lorsque le projet arrivait à sa fin, ENDA n’avait pas d’autres options que de réduire le soutien en personnel de terrain. Cette situation qui était perçue comme inopportune, a amené les producteurs de Koussanar à mieux s’organiser et à prendre des initiatives. Ainsi certains d’entre eux qui avaient plus d’expériences avaient accepté de jouer bénévolement le rôle de paysan relai pour assurer la formation des nouveaux membres et s’impliquer davantage dans la gestion du système de contrôle interne. Finalement, ils ont renforcé leurs bases organisationnelles en créant la fédération des producteurs biologiques de NIANI et de WULLI dénommée « YAKAAR NIANI WULLI (YNW)», impliquant de nos jours plus de 2000 membres. Les difficultés conjoncturelles du marché de coton biologique et les besoins de ressources pour un bon fonctionnement de la fédération et des services de qualité aux membres, ont amené YNW à envisager en plus de la certification biologique, la certification équitable afin d’accroître les opportunités de marché (comme l’ont fait aussi la plupart des projets de production biologique de l’Afrique l’Ouest). La plus récente initiative qui fait de YNW une véritable entreprise paysanne est sa stratégie de diversification de cultures et la transformation du fonio biologique dont une partie non négligeable est vendue sur le marché local. Actuellement, la Fédération offre les produits ci-après avec la certification biologique et équitable : la fibre de coton, le filé main de coton, le sésame, le mil, le bissap et le fonio. Ainsi, la transformation du fonio constitue une opportunité supplémentaire d’emploi pour les femmes membres de YNW. Fonio transformé disposé dans la boutique local de YNW Une femme membre de YNW transformant le fonio De surcroit, “YAKAAR NIANI WULLI” dispose d’une stratégie équitable de partage de bénéfice qui fait dire au Sous-préfet de Koussanar : “Il n’y a pas de doute que YNW donne une grande valeur à notre communauté rurale”. Filé main de coton biologique disposé dans la boutique local de YNW Q&A >>> Si vous désirez plus d’information sur la production biologique du coton, veuillez nous adresser vos questions et nous vous répondrons dans l’édition du mois prochain. Envoyer vos messages à [email protected] Veuillez préciser si votre question s’adresse à un membre particulier de l’équipe. Nous vous remercions et espérons avoir de vos nouvelles ! Un membre de YNW filant le coton biologique starting next month... • • • • • • • next Discussion and debates Tips for better organic farming Our views on emerging issues Compare notes with a fellow farmer A closer look at the market A day in the life of a retailer Your questions answered month Connecting farmers across the globe You may have come across a Farmer Visibility Map on our website designed to make your producer group more visible to buyers of organic cotton. The current website is undergoing an exciting refurbishment and we hope to bring you the updated version within the next few months. We will be contacting you soon for an updated profile of ‘who you are and what you do’ and an ‘inspiring’ photo – if we don’t have these already. Our annual Farm and Fibre Report is the authoritative resource on organic fibre production. The Report also works as an awareness raiser and we take this opportunity to write about organic cotton farming issues and priorities. As you probably know, the way we collect information for the report is through a farm survey. We highly value the opportunity to get together with you that this data collection exercise provides - and finding out how you are doing. This year we will be in touch with you over the months of July-September and will visit as many farmers as we can. We are very grateful for your time and will do our best to make this task as burden-free as possible. Contact Details Doraliz Aranda, Business Development Manager [email protected] Alfonso Lizarraga, Regional Director, Latin America [email protected] Prabha Nagarajan, Regional Director, India [email protected] Jose Santisteban, Research Manager [email protected] Silvere Tovignan, Regional Director, Africa [email protected] Liesl Truscott, Farm Engagement Director [email protected] Please email Liesl with your... General enquiries Suggestions for this bulletin Questions for the team to answer Please visit our website: www.organicexchange.org Final say from our CEO.... “The economic development potential of organic cotton agriculture is great. In large, because it is a straightforward, accepted model for introducing farmers to solid/fundamental best practices in cotton farming. This is an incredibly attractive proposition for governments, funders, and other stakeholders who want to help the population develop skills and abilities that apply to today's marketplace (local, regional, and international). Organic farming is a method which promotes viable skills and a market-based method for helping people in poverty move away from poverty.” David Bennell CEO Organic Exchange Organic Exchange takes a global approach to developing markets. Our work focuses on building demand and supply simultaneously. We focus on the entire value chain, from seed procurement through to retail. We provide models and tools for collaborative planning, problem solving, product development, and point of purchase materials. Through the work of Organic Exchange, and as a direct result of funding from our key partner ICCO, we now positively affect the lives of over 220,000 organic cotton farmers worldwide.