Uganda remains a strong and promising country for organic cotton production despite passing through some challenging times. Like India, if in different ways, Uganda also highlights the challenges facing the organic cotton sector. How to be competitive while maintaining integrity, investing in farmer development and improving productivity? Then, growth leads to more potential for conflict with and challenges from other forms of cotton production. How does organic compare? It it offering more to farmers? Is it becoming a threat to other sectors? How can this be managed?

The organic movement as a whole is strong, and domestic markets are growing for food and health products, with the support and promotion of NOGAMU among others, the National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda, who this week are convening the 1^st African Organic Conference here in Kampala, along with local partners Uganda Martyrs University and Louis Bolk Institute/Agro Eco and with the support of IFOAM, UNCTAD and UNEP. This conference has brought together scientists, promoters and supports of organic agriculture to explore how to continue to grow organic agriculture and trade across Africa, improve research and trade, and build domestic, regional and global markets. Many interesting papers have been presented highlighting the potential of organic agriculture to improve productivity and to build on farmers' traditional knowledge through harnessing science and biotechnology. See www.nogamu.org.ug

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Cotton is not due to be planted here until next month or July, but I have been visiting farmers in different areas belonging to projects run by Dunavant, Bo Weevil and LOFP and CCI as well as farmers previously in the CopCot organic cotton project which was closed last year, in West Nile.

Farmers remain optimistic about organic cotton if increasingly looking at other crop opportunities as well. The farm system for organic cotton in Uganda does benefit from some natural advantages especially in pest control, if improvements need to be made in soil fertility management and introducing and developing appropriate techniques.