Pakistan is primarily an agricultural country, with fertile lands and diverse climates that enable the cultivation of cotton, wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane and a variety of horticultural crops. Cotton is the finest natural fibers with global economic significance and is the third most important crop in Pakistan by area under cultivation.

Pakistan’s economy largely depends on the agriculture sector which contributes around 19% in the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Cotton has an imperative role in the agriculture based economic growth of the country as more than 60% of the total exports comes from cotton crop product chain. Pakistan is one of the world’s leading countries for cotton production, consumption and exportation.

Being pest-sensitive and chemically intensive, cotton is the world’s most sensitive and delicate crop requiring extra care during its life cycle. Conventional cultivation of cotton is associated with the rigorous use of synthetic agrochemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) that adversely affect the natural environment, hence plingay a crucial role in emissions and climate change.

WWF-Pakistan, the largest conservation organization in Pakistan, started its work with cotton farmers in 2004 to promote sustainable farming practices to reduce environmental footprint associated with chemical intensive cotton cultivation on a large scale. With the production of the World’s 1st certified Better Cotton bale back in 2010, WWF-Pakistan continued its efforts to scale up sustainable cotton farming across Pakistan to combat ecological challenges and enhance farmers’ resilience. Meanwhile, WWF-Pakistan secured financial support from the Laudes Foundation (formerly the C&A Foundation) in 2016 and initiated a project aimed to support small and marginalized tribal farmers of Balochistan in organic cotton cultivation and improve their livelihoods through increased farm incomes. Recognizing the significance of extension services, WWF-Pakistan signed an MoU with the Agriculture Extension Department (AED) Government of Balochistan and engaged them in project implementation. Thus, the partnership between WWF-Pakistan, AED and Laudes Foundation ensured regular training and guidance of field staff and the target farming community on standard protocols of organic cultivation and certification. Alongside the farm level practices, efforts were made to engage relevant stakeholders and develop a viable supply chain of certified organic cotton by connecting farmers, ginning units, textile industries and textile brands. These coordinated efforts marked a few wonderful achievements including the production of Pakistan’s 1st certified organic cotton bale in 2019 and 100 % uptake of certified cotton at premium price. The achievement of certified organic cotton production inspired and encouraged the local textile industry, and they developed partnerships with WWF-Pakistan to fund and source organic cotton cultivation in Pakistan. Thus, Laudes Foundation’s small project turned into a massive stream of partnerships aiming to meet industry’s partial demand of certified organic cotton and support financial as well as environmental resilience.

Through a strong public-private partnership model, WWF-Pakistan is currently partnered with 10 local textile industries and implementing 13 projects engaging around 13,300 farmers and nearly 118,000 acres of cotton crops with the production of Pakistan’s 1st Regenagri certified cotton bale in 2023, achievement of another key milestone. These projects focus on promotion of nature-based farm practices to improve soil health, biodiversity, water stewardship, reduce GHG emissions and increase farm resilience.

By integrating environmental stewardship with market-driven incentives, WWF-Pakistan is setting a precedent for sustainable cotton production and positioning Pakistan as a potential producer of certified organic and regenerative cotton to support farm to fashion sustainability journey.

[Blog preview photo credit: blog author Hafiz Muhammad Bakhsh]