Exploring Regenerative Cotton Farming

What is regenerative farming?

Soil quality is important for our ecosystem, supporting biodiversity and helping to store carbon, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It’s therefore vital we maintain healthy soil. However, conventional cotton farming practices like tilling (turning over soil) and using chemical fertilisers release can damage soil and release CO2. Regenerative farming encourages practices that improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and enhance the overall ecosystem on farms.

What role does regenerative farming have in our Primark Cotton Project (formerly the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme)

Our ambition is to use more regenerative farming practices within our Primark Cotton Project by 2030. To get there, we’re working with CottonConnect to create a new regenerative cotton code.

Right now, 3,000 farmers are in the third year of a pilot programme where they’re testing out regenerative farming methods, with training based on the newly developed REEL Regenerative Code.

Here’s what they’re learning:

• Boosting soil health by reducing the turning over of the soil and planting cover crops (plants grown to protect and improve soil between growing seasons.), which help to enrich the soil and protect it from erosion.

• Cutting down on the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers and increasing use of natural options like biopesticides (natural substances used to control pests in farming) and compost.

• Improving animal care to enhance livestock health and diversify farmers’ incomes.

• Trying agroforestry, which involves growing trees around farm or village borders. These trees can serve as windbreaks, provide shade for wildlife and even offer additional income for farmers.

This builds on the great work our Primark Cotton Project farmers are already doing, like inter-cropping (growing two or more different crops together in the same field at the same time), relying less on synthetic and chemical fertilisers and pesticides and using more bio-fertilisers.

It’s a big goal to move to more regenerative farming practices across our Primark Cotton Project farmers, and it’s going to take time, but we’re excited about the journey ahead!

A new regenerative code for cotton farming

We're working with 3,000 farmers in a pilot program to test CottonConnect’s new REEL Regenerative Code. This will help us figure out the best way to support small cotton farmers in using more regenerative cotton farming practices.

As every farm is unique, a one-size-fits-all approach just won’t work. That’s why we’re teaming up with our local partners , CC and SEWA to find what works best in the local context. Our partners will also monitor progress each year to make sure we’re on the right track.