Better Cotton research to boost women’s role in India’s cotton farming

Better Cotton has launched a research project in India aimed at empowering women in the cotton farming industry. The initiative, funded by sustainability standards body ISEAL, aims to identify best practices and real-life success stories to improve women's participation at the farm level.

Jyoti Narain Kapoor, Director, Better Cotton’s India Program says while women play a vital role in cotton farming communities, their efforts often go unrecognized. The project seeks to address this by examining effective strategies to support women's empowerment.

Throughout the year, Better Cotton will work with local partners Cotton Connect India and WWF India, which together support over 125,000 farmers in Maharashtra and Telangana. The project will focus on improving hiring practices and increasing women's leadership roles in community-facing positions like Producer Unit Managers and Field Facilitators.

Nini Mehrotra, Senior Manager for Gender Equality at Better Cotton, emphasized that strengthening women in these roles is crucial for boosting their presence in farming positions. The findings will contribute to Better Cotton's broader 2030 impact target on women's empowerment in the global cotton industry.