Why do we wish to put small cotton farmers on the agenda?

Since the collapse of Rana Plaza garment manufacturing centre (Savar, Bangladesh) on 24 April 2013, much public attention has been placed on compensation to victims and the improvement of the building safety, working conditions and wages at the garment stage of textile supply chains. The Fair Trade movement has supported such calls and will continue to do so, via its advocacy and campaigning and also working with the private sector and governments to ensure that workers in the garment phase of the textile chain have a living wage and decent work conditions.

Few public attention has gone to the cotton farmers that “grow” our clothes

However, the 10 million cotton farmers in West and Central Africa not only they bear the consequences of an unfair cotton trading system and huge imbalances of power in the cotton supply chain. They also face adverse domestic conditions in West Africa, which make it difficult to provide for a living income for farmers and living wage for their workers.

In September 2015, world governments adopted the new United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, goal 8 (sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, decent work for
all) goal 12 (sustainable consumption and production). Last but not least, goal 17 (global partnership for development, which highlights the important role of multistakeholder partnerships has, as targets, the promotion of “universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system
under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda” and to “significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ shareof global exports by 2020”.

These goals are directly relevant to Fair Trade, a best practice “multi-stakeholder” partnership that, from the outset, has addressed the various dimensions of sustainable development, including fair trading terms and increased market access for marginalised producers, long-term partnerships and sustainable agricultural practices.

All these goals are also directly relevant to the issues faced by small cotton farmers in West Africa. Cotton exemplifies the interlinkages between the various dimensions of sustainable development. What governments will do to supportmore fairness and sustainability in cotton supply chains will serve as indicator for how much political will there is to achieve the new un Sustainable Development Goals.

What governments will do to support more fairness and sustainability in cotton supply chains will serve as indicator for how much political will there is to achieve the new un Sustainable Development Goals

In this context, on the basis of desk research and interviews with cotton stakeholders in the so-called C4 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali) and Senegal, this document aims at giving recommendations to West African governments, European Union (EU) institutions as well as EU and G7 countries on what they could do to empower small cotton farmers, with a focus on West African cotton farmers.