"Cotton Made In Africa" project

Through their Zambian operation, Dunavant actively participates in the project “Cotton Made In Africa” by supporting Zambian small scale farmers to grow cotton and supplying them with the required inputs and certified treated planting seed. Dunavant also provides the necessary extension services to assist farmers in yield enhancement at the different stages of growing cotton, from pre-planting field preparation to hand picked harvest, in order to produce a fine quality cotton needed and requested by the textile industry.

PROJECT GOAL

To help African smallholder cotton farmers in improving their livelihood by boosting sustainable cotton production. This is achieved by educating farmers and their families, building capacity for better management of cotton fields and by using market forces of responsible retailers and brands in the developed world.

BUSINESS-DRIVEN APPROACH

Most sustainability-oriented cotton products do not reach market shares of more than one per cent, such as organic or fair trade cotton. Cotton made in Africa aims to reach a significant share of mass market by addressing price and quality requirements of consumers and subsequently of large retailers and brands and by accommodating the needs of supply chains and buying departments.

As the mass markets do not accept price premiums, Cotton made in Africa aims to improve the social, economic and ecological condition of cotton production without significantly increasing costs, thus keeping Cotton made in Africa marketable.

Cotton made in Africa works without disturbing the supply chains and sourcing markets usually employed by retailers and brands. Retailers that support the Cotton made in Africa project will ask their suppliers to use Cotton made in Africa yarns and spinners with then buy Cotton made in Africa from international cotton traders. This keeps Cotton made in Africa simple and allows production with nearly no extra costs.

SUSTAINABLE COTTON PRODUCTION IN AFRICA

Sustainability indicators were developed with the renown University of Wageningen and NGO partners. The three branches of sustainability (people – planet – profit) are covered by five sustainability indicators (children completing primary education; soil fertility and fertilizer use; pesticide use; efficiency of water usage; gross margins for farmers).

The indicators were transformed into operational guidelines defining sustainable cotton production to be employed by smallholder farmers on their fields. In order to raise the standard of livelihood of smallholders in Africa , the project aims to train farmers in better management practices. Therefore, capacity building for extension services is a main focus of the work in Africa.

PROJECT PARTNERS

The project is supported by strong partners from all domains of the society. The German government backs the project during its pilot phase with financing and help in implementation within a large private-public-partnership project (November 2005 – March 2008) through the German Development Bank, DEG and the German Technical Cooperation, GTZ. Private sector partners are the world’s largest international mail-order retailer, Otto Group and fashion label Tom Tailor as well as Dunavant,one of the largest privately owned cotton merchandisers in the world. Leading German and international NGOs are supporting the project (WWF and German Agro Action DWHH).