This week, Pallavi Sharma, Beyond’s Agriculture, Food and Biodiversity Lead, got back from two days at the Better Cotton Conference in Izmir.
Here are her reflections and highlights:
With many reality checks and an equal number of stories of hope, here are some thoughts from the conference, added to my list of things to think about when designing due diligence systems:
Data? Who benefits from it? Traceability systems are a great idea. I, as a consumer, want to know where my shirt or coffee comes from and that my money isn’t fuelling forced labour! But do farmers actually benefit from the data they provide? What’s the value for them? Tracking cotton back to the farm should open better opportunities for farmers. But right now, it often feels like brands get most of the benefits. For traceability to work, it has to be a two-way street. Farmers shouldn’t be burdened with endless data demands without seeing real benefits. Tools need to be simple, in local languages, designed with farmers in mind, and farmers need to have a share in the value where their data is being used.
Where is the economic benefit for farmers? While sustainable practices show up as cash in terms of reduced pesticide use, better soil health, and agroecological benefits for larger operations, the story for smallholders is different. They need to see value upfront to adjust and engage in these practices. Monetary incentives remain the biggest driver for transitioning to better, more sustainable farming across the supply chain.
Where are the rules? This is my personal pet peeve. I’m part of the group quite unhappy with the potential roll back of mandatory sustainability laws. Standards like Better Cotton do important work, but without clear laws, progress will be slow and uneven. That said, as I said on the panel, let’s not miss the forest for the trees. Even if some rules are weakening, ignoring people and the planet isn’t smart. Courts and customers notice. Cutting corners might save money now, but it can cost us big time later, as supply chains become less resilient to climate shocks and other disruptions.
And lastly, as Lavinia eloquently put it, farmers are not a homogenous group: “Cotton’s supply chains are built on a dangerous illusion of homogeneity. There’s no single ‘farmer’ archetype, only a spectrum of power ” and my co-panelist Vicente, who leads the cotton farmer coop FONPA in Mozambique, said – a voice at the table without the power to influence decisions is pretty pointless! – something to hold when we are thinking about participation and involvement of farmers in decision making!