Organic cotton farms produce a wide range of other crops, grown in rotation with cotton, intercropped with cotton, on field boundaries or growing wild. Although farmers often get a good price for their cotton, frequently the other crops they harvest – also organic – do not have access to organic markets.

Go to http://www.organicexchange.org/Documents/farm_baseline.pdf for the highlights of the first year results of a new program studying these ’farm system crops’, carried out by Organic Exchange and funded by ICCO, the Dutch inter-church organisation for development co-operation.

The programme aims to improve the livelihoods of organic cotton farmers through a dual approach.

· Firstly, a producer ‘visibility’ database to record what other crops organic cotton farmers are currently growing, and

· Secondly, a market research exercise to establish what retailers and consumers want.

Throughout both elements of the study, four recurring themes emerged.

· Think and act locally. The urge to jump into export markets can be strong but involves greater risks (and perhaps lower returns) than a healthy local market.

· Consider emerging economies such as China and South Africa. These markets are already demanding higher quality and food safety standards, but are not yet dominated by long-standing trade relationships, regulations and restrictions.

· Integrating export markets can work well - demand for organic and Fairtrade products can often only be found through exporting.

· All businesses need to be sustainable in the broadest sense. Community development and improved local markets will improve product quality, quantity and consistency of supply.

Organic Exchange Farm Systems Crops Project Manager Liesl Truscott said; " Often projects start off from an assumption of what’s needed to solve a problem – but we have started differently, by carefully researching the needs and the possible solutions. In this way we aim to achieve a much more sustained and sustainable livelihood for the world’s organic cotton farmers."