Organic Cotton Accelerator launches best practice curriculum for sector

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 10, 2022

On November 10, the Organic Cotton Accelerator announced the publication of its ‘Organic Cotton Training Curriculum’ in partnership with The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, FiBL to ameliorate organic cotton production in India. 

The launch consists of a standardised ‘Training of Trainers’ curriculum about best practices in organic agronomics, the OCA announced in a press release on Thursday. The OCA aims to transfer practical knowledge to organic cotton farmers to help them boost production sustainably. 

“This is a curriculum for all our dedicated field staff who deliver round- the- year training and advisory support to the in-conversion and certified organic farmers across many states in India,” said OCA senior programme officer Shankhamala Sen in a press release. “It is unique in that it consolidates the most relevant topics and challenges that our field staff and farmers face on a day-to-day basis on crop management practices from the seed selection stage to post- harvest management. We are encouraged by the positive reception at field-level when the curriculum was piloted this summer. This is a key resource and milestone for OCA’s Programmes and the sector at large, and we are looking forward to building it out with further tools and including other geographies in the near future.” 

The training is the first training package designed for organic cotton growers in over a decade, according to the OCA. The package covers cotton production from seed to harvest and is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit 
 
“The Organic Cotton Training Curriculum is designed to reduce the gaps between scientific and practitioner communities,” said FiBL’s deputy leader of the department of international cooperation Amritbir Riar. “The curriculum will help develop the cotton-growing community's capacities to produce more sustainably and work as a catalyst to fast-track the system's transformation toward resilience.”