Cotton to Market Lead Brooke Summers recently addressed over 200 cotton farmers and cotton industry personnel on the global drivers that will affect their market access in future.
The Australian Cotton Grower of the Year Field Day was held at “Tyunga Farms” on the Darling Downs Queensland to highlight the secrets to success of this highly efficient, myBMP certified farm with other growers from across the cotton regions.
Brooke noted that “through thousands of conversations with brands and other stakeholders over a decade, we’ve been able to get a deep understanding of what’s going on in the world of fashion and textiles so that we can help the industry and our farmers prepare for the future.”
She touched on key global drivers including the climate crisis, Environmental Social Governance (ESG) reporting, sustainability tools and frameworks such as the Science Based Targets Initiative and global legislation like that coming out of the EU.
“All of these drivers will impact our farmers, and if we want to maintain access to premium markets we need to be able to provide the data, certifications, traceability and independent verifications that our customers need.
“Having said that, some of these requirements put unfair burden on farmers and farming organisations to comply, and there is still a lot of uncertainty over who pays and where the value accrues.
“The Australian Cotton Strategic Roadmap is the cotton industry’s plan to make sure we are ready to act, and that our farmers can benefit from the decades of work they’ve done to be sustainable, connected and efficient.
“Our farmers hear much more about issues affecting their every day such as pests, weeds and diseases, but it’s crucial that we help create mutual understanding about the impacts of what’s being asked of them at the global level,” she said.