Cotton farming in India

Background

The landscape around the Satpura and Pench reserves in central India is home to a fifth of all wild tigers. The mosaic of agricultural land and forest allows these tigers and other vulnerable species, such as leopards and sloth bears, to move between protected areas. Cotton production is an important part of the economy here and is the primary cash crop for most farmers.

However, common cotton farming practices focus on yields rather than the health of the land. It can lead to soil erosion and water pollution, and impacts biodiversity. To help protect the farmland from degradation and maintain the important wildlife corridor, we started a project with our long-term partner WWF.

Details

The idea behind the project is to take a holistic approach to farming to enhance biodiversity and support healthy ecosystems, all while producing more sustainable cotton. It also aims to increase agricultural productivity, lower costs, improve farmers’ livelihoods and help maintain vital wildlife corridors.

In 2022, a pilot project was set up with 150 farmers who were already certified for organic farming, but wanted to take the next step to using more regenerative techniques. They learned about planting patterns that would improve the soil, encourage beneficial insects and deter harmful ones, as well as generating new sources of income. The pilot was a success and has now been rolled out to thousands of farmers.

The project has also supported the creation of bio-input centres where women’s self-help groups prepare natural fertilisers and pest repellents from local materials to use on their farms and sell to others.

To improve the accuracy of applying inputs to the crops, a group of farmers are currently trialling live alerts based on satellite data of vegetation cover and weather conditions.

Outcomes

The project is still in the early stages and it will take several years to confirm any improvements to soil health and biodiversity. However, there are promising early results:

• After the pilot with 150 farmers, the project was quickly scaled up and by the end of the second year, 3,000 farmers have been trained.
• So far, 19 bio-input centres have been created for preparing natural pest repellents and fertilisers.
• Replacing purchased inputs with natural alternatives made from readily available local resources has reduced costs for the farmers.
• Farmers have also increased their income by selling a more diverse range of products, particularly red gram.
• An assessment of pilot plots after the second harvest shows that the quantity and diversity of beneficial insects are increasing, while pest numbers are lower.

Next steps

The project will continue to scale-up to reach a total of 6,000 farmers in the region by the end of the 2025/2026 harvest season.

Other plans include:

• Supporting farmers through the process of becoming certified for regenerative standards.
• Testing and rolling out sensors to provide real time advice on when to apply inputs based on vegetation condition.
• Identifying indicators and methods to best monitor the impact of regenerative farming on nature, including methods of testing and tracking soil health.
• Standardising recipes for bio-inputs.