The Hindu Business Line : Gujarat farmers benefit from Fairtrade cotton practice

Ahmedabad, July 16 A three-year partnership between Shell Foundation and Marks & Spencer (M&S) has helped the latter emerge as the first major British retailer to sell products made from Fairtrade cotton, while simultaneously improving the livelihood of more than 1,500 farmers in Gujarat, whose income rose on an average by 20 per cent.

The partnership, launched in 2005, set out to prove that it is possible to build new supply chains to major retailers that simultaneously helps eradicate poverty and deliver commercial returns, according to a report released here. Fairtrade is a standard for cotton bought by M&S for clothes.

The report has also cited the case of Mr Prabhat Bhai, 59, who is farming on 30 acres of land and is the President of the Agrocel Pure and FairCotton Farmers’ Association in Gujarat.

In 2007-08, a total of 12,397 acres of land in Kutch district of Gujarat were brought under Fairtrade certified cotton practice, being bought by M&S. In 2006, M&S had bought one-thirds of global supply of Fairtrade cotton.

Agrocel component

Their supply from Agrocel, the small holder farming cooperative, alone has grown hundred-fold, from 12 to 1,200 tonnes in two years and their overall program is benefiting thousands of farmers in India and South Africa.

The report said M&S has now entered into upfront contractual commitments with pre-finance arrangements with cotton producers. This benefits the farmers giving them security and upfront cash to fund their planning. Also, it gives Agrocel the confidence to invest in bringing more farmers into the system.

Agrocel, with help from Shell Foundation and M&S, has thus emerged as an “ethical agent”, supplying organic and Fairtrade cotton to many major retailers and sourcing this cotton by replicating its farmer-support model with more than 30,000 Indian farmers benefiting across the country, the report added.

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More Stories on : Cotton | Retailing | Gujarat

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