Sustainability of cotton production systems

Anne-Sophie Poisot, with Francesca Mancini, FAO

Cotton production Over 100 million cotton farm families across 75

countries, USD 51.4 billion annually in raw product. One of the most significant crops in terms of land use after food grains and soybeans. Cotton often one component of more complex farming system.

Questions: What are the impacts of cotton production on

natural resources, economic and social systems? How can we measure them? How to increase positive impacts and reduce

negative impacts?

Sustainability Most widely accepted definition of sustainability in

“Brundtland Report” (1987)“Sustainable development is development that meets

the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

The Report “Our Common Future” of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)

published in 1987 “Needs and limitations” Three pillars of sustainability – environmental,

economic and social Agenda 21 Programme Areas + major international

instruments

Key considerations Growing consumer and market interest on

sustainability (Organic, Fair trade, Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton Made in Africa…)

Many different initiatives/ways of promoting Will mean different things in different

contexts Sustainability a moving target – seek

improvements, not absolutes Defining issues, indicators and

improvements require stakeholder dialogue

“Measuring Sustainability in Cotton Farming Systems…”

…“Towards a Guidance Framework” (FAO/ICAC 2014) :• provides overview

of sustainability issues

• recommends indicators to help industry assess and measure progress on critical sustainability issues

Developed by ICAC SEEP (Expert

Panel on the Social, Economic

and Environmental Performance of

Cotton Production)

Discussed in Cartagena 2013

Key sustainability issues in cotton production systems

Environmental pillar

•5 themes:•Pest and Pesticide Management•Water Management•Soil Management•Biodiversity/Land Use• Climate Change

Economic pillar

•2 themes:•Economic Viability, Poverty Reduction & Food Security•Economic Risk Management.

Social pillar

•4 themes:•Labor Rights and Standards•Workers Health and Safety•Equity and Gender•Farmer Organization

Summary of key issues Stable global land use & increasing yields in major

cotton producing regions (except inWest /Southern Africa) suggest increased efficiency But remains an input-intensive commodity (energy, water, fertilizers, pesticides) New production practices/technologies offer real

opportunities for improving environmental and social impacts

Managing adoption of such innovations will require continued investment in research and farmer education

Pest and pesticide management

Pests a challenge for yield losses cotton production 11% of global pesticide use, 25% of global

insecticide use and 50% of insecticide use across the developing world (Woodburn, 1999)

Proportion of global insecticide sales for cotton declined from 18.4% of world sales in 2003 to 14.1% in 2009 (SEEP, 2012). Significant disparities in pesticide use exist across countries

Significant proportion of pesticides used in cotton are Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), which, according to FAO/WHO criteria, should be considered for phasing out (aldicarb, chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, methamidofos, methomyl, monocrotofos, parathion-methyl, profenofos, zeta cypermethrin) (SEEP, 2010).

Pest and pesticide management (ctnd)

Environmental impacts : water contamination, poisoning of pollinators, fish, wildlife or livestock, biodiversity loss, long term persistence in soils, air pollution

Impacts on pest management and crop production: production costs, pest resistance, secondary pest outbreaks

Human exposure : acute poisoning (convulsions, loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, death) or chronic illness (carcinogenic, genotoxic, reproductive or endocrine disruptive properties)

Examples of indicators

Quantity of active ingredients of pesticides and HHPs used (kg/ha) Number of pesticide applications per season Existence of an IPM plan

Soil Fertility depletion - challenge in both extensive cotton mono-

culture and low input systems. Soil structure decline, depletion in soil organic matter, fertility loss, build up of soil borne pathogens and nematodes

Soil contamination - residual concentrations of pesticides, and in particular endosulfan in cotton soils (Savadogo 2009, Tapsoba 2006)

Erosion from water and wind Soil salinity- in irrigated cotton, acute in semi arid areas

Examples of indicators Soil characteristics: organic matter content, pH, N, P, K Fertilizer used by type (kg/ha) % of area under soil erosion control and minimum/conservation

tillage

Biodiversity and land use Three levels of biodiversity : genetic diversity,

species diversity and ecosystem diversity (CBD1992)Main concerns with cotton production : Loss, degradation or fragmentation of ecosystems as

a result of the establishment of large monocultures Suppression of ecosystem services caused by the

excessive use of broadspectrum pesticides.

Examples of indicators Total area (ha) and % of natural vegetation converted

for cotton production (in ha) % of total farm area that is non-cropped

Climate change Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from cotton production to

ginning (Source : Carbon Trust 2011)= global emissions of 220mt CO2e = 3.6% - 4.3% of global emissions from agriculture= 0.4% of overall emissions 4 to 12 tonnes of CO2e emitted/tonne of cotton lint, depending on regions (ibid)

Decomposition and mineralisation

Energy use

Carbon stock

Labor Rights and Standards

Major differences in industrialized vs developing countries Child labor in cotton reported in at least 18 countries Examples (as opposed to acceptable children’s work on family farm): direct/indirect exposure to chemicals, use dangerous tools, working at night, long hours, heavy load Employment conditions – forced labor in cotton in at least

12 countries (2012) Freedom of association Social protection – scarcely available in developg countries

Examples of indicators % of children completing appropriate level of school by gender number and % of workers subordinated by forced labor

Next steps•1) consider the indicators at a national level ; form committees in each country to create initial framework of indicators and keep them updated•2) consideration by appropriate national organizations to pilot testing the framework.

2 recommendations from ICAC

Cartagena 2013

•Project and workshops in Benin and Zambia 2015 (FAO/ GIZ)•Projet “Africanisation des indicateurs de durabilité” 2015 (CIRAD/EU-ACP)

Immediate next steps

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