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Solidaridad – ETC
Organic Cotton Program in India is being implemented in Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra since May 2004.
Organic Cotton Program
in India is the program of Solidaridad, a development agency from The
Netherlands focusing on Fair Trade. This program will create a supply chain of
organic cotton for mainstream garments, based on environmentally and socially
friendly production. The cotton produced under this program will be certified
organic and the ginning and spinning units will be certified under the social
accountability standards (SA 8000) to ensure good working conditions.
Solidaridad
sub-contracted the setting up of production and ginning of quality organic
cotton and establishing the organic cotton growers association to ETC India, a
development consultancy firm based in Bangalore. ETC India has been facilitating
participatory technology development process with NGOs and farmers in South
India in order to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. ETC India adopts a
strong socio-technical approach in capacity building of the farmers using
participatory methods and has conducted several Farmer Field Schools for
training the farmers in integrated crop management.
Many staff associated
with FAO-EU Cotton IPM Program in India has now joined ETC India to implement
the Organic cotton program after completion of the FAO cotton program in India
in March 2004. ETC India has now a strong technical and social team to set up
the production and organic cotton grower’s association.
The program is being
implemented through local NGOs in the areas where production is being organized.
The NGOs will assist in organizing and monitoring the program at the local
level.
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